Ten in One
by Komodo-Lancer
Summary: What if two omnitrixes had been sent to Earth, and what if the second omnitrix bearer decided to put the power to good use? The Teen Titans say hello to 10 new team members! Ben10 and Teen Titans crossover. Please Read and Review!
1. It Started With a Bang

It began with wandering. He stared out the window of his train car, buildings continued to pass by, as he would occasionally glimpse his reflection. The train stopped as it reached the station. Lugging his small bag, he stepped onto the platform, not realizing that this was a day to change many lives. Hours later, he was seated at a deli, wondering what to do next with himself. It wasn't like he had much more to do for himself. He was a mere drifter, someone who would just pass through a place, never staying or lingering for too long. Soon his current location, Jump City would be a mere memory... It was then that he heard _the_ commotion. The crashes, the explosions, the fight. He was quickly snapped out of his reverie to see many people running past the deli window. He exited the deli only to end up fighting through the fleeing crowds to the scene of the action. Perhaps _he _could do something. _Could_? No, he _had_ to. If the source of the commotion was what he thought it was, if he had brought it here with him, if anything happened because of _him_…

He froze at the sight of two opposing teams of fighters. One was a three-man group. There was a pink-haired girl, a short boy dressed in a green jump suit, and a large shaggy man. The three were fighting against, against…

His jaw nearly dropped. He had heard about them, read about them, seen pictures of them, but never had he actually _seen_ them _in person_! The Titans. The Teen Titans!

Well, the source of the commotion was not what he had feared it to be. Might as well leave it to the city's protectors. He made to walk away, but after a few steps he paused. They looked like they were having a hard time with whoever those three were. No matter, he was pretty sure that the Titans had handled situations like this before. Besides, the fight was not even his concern.

"CYBORG!" The short boy had placed a jet pack on Cyborg, blasting the hero away. Starfire flew away to assist him. He winced as the fight became even more vicious for the remaining Titans. True, this fight was not his responsibility. He probably would be better off if he avoided the situation. But then again, what would he be as someone who could affect the outcome and not do anything about it. He ran to find an isolated area as his right hand made for something on his left wrist…

XXX

Cyborg and Starfire's departure was followed by a devastating combo attack by the three assailants that sent Robin down a crevice. The pink-haired girl, Jinx, moved into a second round of hand-to-hand combat with Raven.

Raven gritted her teeth from the fight she was being forced to put up, grief, and from the steady stream of insults that were being thrown at her. "Face it," Jinx continued, "Against me you're—" Jinx was cut short when she was blasted by a green slime with such force that she was forced into a wall. "Augh! GROSS!" Jinx looked down at herself in disgust, arms outstretched.

"And there's plenty more where that came from!" Everyone turned about trying to find the source of an oddly annoying high-pitched voice.

"Wh-who said that?" shouted Mammoth, who was both aggravated and tense from the sudden appearance of some unknown opponent.

"UP HERE!" shouted the oddly annoying voice. The remaining fighters all looked up to see hovering above them, an unusually large insect. It was the size of a very large dog; it had two arms, four bladed legs as well as a bladed tail, a green and black exoskeleton covered its body; its head possessed four eyestalks and an almost human-like mouth that was armed with sharp teeth. Another odd feature of the insect was that it had a green hourglass symbol on its forehead.

"What the snot are you?" angrily demanded Gizmo, pointing a stubby finger at the newcomer. "Your worst nightmare!" The insect seemed to smirk as its mouth formed a human smile. The smile then vanished. "And _you_ are?"

"We're," Gizmo smugly folded his small arms together. "H.I.V.E!"

"Hive?" The insect cocked its head in curiosity.

"Yes, H.I.V.E," Jinx smirked. "And you're about to feel our sting!" Gizmo pressed a button on his remote control and two bat-like wings popped out of his backpack. The backpack's jetpack then activated, and the miniscule inventor took flew towards the newcomer.

"UH OH!" said the insect as it was forced to buzz off in the opposite direction, dodging laser bolts fired from Gizmo's backpack. The insect turned an eyestalk back at Gizmo as the chase went on. "Don't say I didn't warn ya!" The insect's smirk reappeared…until it saw Raven and Beastboy fleeing the scene. There were only_ two_ members getting to safety! Let's see, he had seen Cyborg getting blasted off with Starfire chasing after him earlier on. That left Robin, where was he? A chilling realization struck the bug when it saw the crevice. It remembered hearing an_ explosion_ on the way back to the scene…OH NO! This battle would have to end, QUICKLY! The insect swerved to lead Gizmo in another direction and then turned an eyestalk towards Gizmo. Green slime was fired from the eyestalk at Gizmo's face.

"GRAUGH, WHA—SNOT!" Gizmo wiped his face clean just in time to see Jinx moments before crashing into her. Mammoth was MAD!

"Why you little—" Mammoth was silenced by a blast of slime that was fired from the insect's mouth. The insect then buzzed towards the crevice. "And help is on the way!" It chirped.

XXX

Robin was going head over heels as he was swept away by the current. His lungs burned for air as he grabbed onto what felt like a metal pipe, trying to resist the rushing flow of water. Using all of his strength, Robin was just able to pull himself up and get his head above the surface to receive precious oxygen. He tried to keep a solid grip on his life line, but the current was strong, too strong! Robin lost his hold, it was over… Suddenly, something that felt like a pair of arms seized him. Robin then felt himself lifted into the air and then, to his amazement, found his feet skimming the surface of the water. A loud buzzing noise filled the air. The trip ended when Robin and whatever carrying him, reached a platform. Robin was gently lowered down. "You okay?" said an odd high-pitched voice. The buzzing stopped as something landed behind Robin.

"Uh, yeah, I think so." Robin tentatively responded. Robin then heard an unusual beeping noise, he turned to see a flash of red light. When the flash of light vanished, he saw a person staring back at him. He appeared to be close to Robin's age, he was wearing a thin light-blue, short-sleeved jacket over a white t-shirt and a pair of tan pants.

"You and your friends looked like you were having some trouble," the stranger decided to explain himself after seeing the baffled expression on Robin's face, "So…I decided to drop in." The stranger then remembered something else, "Oh, and my name's Lance."

"And mine's Robin." For some reason Robin didn't feel threatened by the newcomer.

"I know," Lance smiled. "I've heard all about you and the Titans." Lance then remembered _something else_, speaking of the Titans…"Oh, and just so you know, I saw Beastboy and Raven get away from those H.I.V.E weirdoes…" Lance's eyes widened in horror upon realizing something, something he had forgotten. "Ack! Those three are still out there! W-we should get you back—"

"_We_? No." Robin firmly stated. "This is our problem, you shouldn't get involved—"

"Actually there are a few things I should point out," said Lance, "One, I _saw_ the fight between you and those three, you're going to need some help. Two, we're _both_ stuck in here. And three," Lance pointed to Robin's waist."You're missing something." No utility belt.

Robin sighed, "Well, you got me there." Robin then looked around, "We'll have to go out the other end if we want to get out of here any time soon."

Lance nodded in agreement, "We'll go with the flow." Suddenly, a beeping noise filled the air. Robin searched for the source of the noise until he set his eyes on Lance's left arm, then noticing something he hadn't before. It appeared to be some sort of watch, but unlike a watch it was rather large and bulky, and on the center of the watch was a symbol that looked like a green hourglass. "And I think I know how to go!" Lance was grinning and now had his hand on what appeared to be the dial of the watch, a ring that encircled the watch's face. Lance stopped rotating the dial as he looked up to face Robin. "You're going to love this… "

"Lance?" Robin frowned, "What's going on—" But before he could finish, Lance slammed his right hand onto the face of the watch. Lance was enveloped in a green light and when the light vanished, a blue bipedal dinosaur-like creature with wheel shaped feet and a helmet over its pointed head was standing in his place. Robin stared in shock, "Lance?" The visor of the helmet lifted to reveal the saurian's face.

"Yep, it's me!" Lance's voice had become different it was more dry and high pitched. Realization struck Robin when he saw the green hourglass symbol on the creature's chest. "So…that watch on your wrist," Robin began slowly, "It—"

"Allows me to turn into something like this?" finished Lance, "Affirmative," Lance placed a clawed arm securely around Robin's waist as his visor lowered, "Hold on tight!" Without warning Lance took off at an amazing speed. Robin's face stretched in a cartoon gag as Lance reached a speed that easily topped the R-cycle. After a few nauseating moments, a light began appearing at the end of the sewer tunnel.

Robin smiled, "This is it, we're—" Lance skidded to a stop when dark figures appeared, blocking the exit. The new arrivals appeared to be men with metal claws and steel boots. They wore black; their faces appeared to be masked with orange at the center, black surrounded the rest of their faces. Their eyes were sinister white slits.

The visor to Lance's helmet raised itself. "Uh, can we help you?" questioned Lance. The men drew out advanced handheld weapons.

Robin frowned, "I guess not…"

Lance zoomed out of the way with Robin as six laser bolts were fired at the two. In a blink of an eye, Lance was upon the assailants. Lance swept one pair of legs with a swing of his tail and then rapidly kicked a second opponent in the chest. He proceeded to do the same to the remaining opponents. Lance stopped in front of the exit, looking down at the fallen men in satisfaction. Lance's visor raised itself again to reveal a smirking saurian face. "That wasn't so tough…" Lance looked down at his side when he heard a small groan. Robin's face was completely green and was surrounded by cartoonish popping bubbles, his head was spinning.

"Whoa, uh, are you ok?" Lance asked tentatively as he set Robin down. Robin stumbled around in dizziness.

"N-never better." Robin then placed a hand over his mouth, producing a small gag. Lance rubbed the back of his head as a chibi bead of sweat dropped down the side of his face. The two boys turned at the sound of metal against concrete. The assailants were getting back up! "Huh?" Lance was surprised to see the men recovering after taking such a beating. One of the men had a cracked mask, which revealed the true face…Circuitry! Lance's alien green eyes widened. "You're all robots?" The mechanical attackers fired another barrage of laser bolts, forcing Lance and Robin to either zip or leap out of the way. The two then engaged the enemy. Through their combined efforts, the assailants were driven back a second time. Robin glared when the enemy got back up a _second_ time…

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" He said as he and Lance were forced back to back with one another.

"Got it," nodded Lance as he made a swipe at a passing adversary, "You go ahead, I'll take care of these bozos!" Robin raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you can handle it?" In response to Robin's question, Lance whipped his tail, sending a robot straight into a wall on the other side of the sewer tunnel. Robin let out a small chuckle. "I see…"

"So get _moving_!" With that, Lance scooped Robin up with his tail, spun at a high speed, and flung him towards the exit. Robin landed on his feet, took one last look at Lance, and then ran. One of the robots made to follow, but a blue blur blocked its path. "Going somewhere…?"

XXX

Lance's act had not been in vain. Even though in his absence, the three students of the H.I.V.E academy had continued to hound his team until they had been driven out of their home, Robin had been able to lead a successful counter attack. Now, the three students were in a pile of their own tangled bodies on the rooftop, defeated. "Cram it!" whined Gizmo as he pulled out a communicator, "I'm calling Slade!" Robin pulled the short assassin up by the collar. "Who's Slade?" Robin demanded angrily. Who _was_ this man who had ordered the attack?

Gizmo smirked, "Wouldn't _you_ like to know, _barf-brain_…"

XXX

Meanwhile, in a hidden facility filled with shifting gears…

"I assure you," An old woman dressed in a H.I.V.E uniform was addressing a man in the shadows, "Such failures are not tolerated within the H.I.V.E. Once the agents have been retrieved from the authorities, they will be disciplined, _strictly_ disciplined…" She tapped a fist into the palm of her hand to make her point. This was unacceptable. Three of the academy's top students had failed in their assignment.

"Actually, your agents served my plan quite well," The man said simply, "I never expected them to succeed, they were merely messengers," The man stepped up to a series of screens, "And the message has been delivered..." The series of screens lit up. They were all replaying Robin's response._ Who's Slade? _The man glanced at a separate screen to the side. "Still, I was not expecting for him to gain an ally like _that_…" The separate screen was showing the broken remains of six robots in a sewer system, and a blue saurian creature was standing in the midst of it. "You just may be a problem…" The man said under his breath.

"Takes care of that," played the surveillance recording. The saurian creature turned towards the exit and set to run, "Now, I'll just catch up and—" An odd noise went off as the green hourglass symbol on the creature's chest began blinking red, "Oh, **_GREAT!_**" The saurian was engulfed in a red light, and a teenage boy was then standing in the creature's place.

The man couldn't help but smirk from behind his mask. "Or perhaps _not_…" It would now be much more difficult for the newcomer to get out of his predicament.


	2. Terror at the Pier

Lance had just ended his shift at the local deli and was taking off his commissioned hat and apron. "Another day down…" He said to himself dismissively. Lance walked out into the sidewalks as he began to take a stroll in the orange glow that the setting sun had cast over Jump City. It had been two weeks since his arrival to Jump City and Lance had since found employment at the very deli he came to at the beginning of his stay. Normally, he wouldn't have stayed for this long of a period of time, but his money had been running low and Lance had to replenish it. Necessities were not cheap, no matter how bare they were. Lance cut his walk short when something caught the side of his eye. "Hello…" He grinned when he saw the top of a Ferris wheel. After what he had been through, Lance felt now would be a good time for a little break…A few fun filled hours later, Lance found himself on the top of the Ferris wheel, enjoying the fireworks show. He was leaning back into his seat, appreciating how normal this day had been. He then heard a small gasp.

"Beautiful…Tell me again what they are called." called out a sweet voice.

"Fireworks." responded a familiar voice. Lance looked down from his seat to see Robin and Starfire seated below him.

Starfire suddenly tensed. "On my home planet, such explosions would mean Gordanians were attacking…you are certain Earth is not under attack?"

"Positive," assured Robin, "Cotton candy?" He offered a large pink piece of fluff to Starfire.

The tamaranean seemed hesitant. "The last time I ate a ball of cotton, it was white, and it did not taste very—"

"This is different," reassured Robin as he offered the cotton candy to Starfire again. Starfire took a piece and placed it in her mouth, enjoying the treat. She let out a surprised squeal. "It vanished!"

"Yeah," Robin smiled, "It'll do that." Starfire then resumed watching the fireworks. "When I first came to this planet," she seemed reminiscent, "I did not think that I would ever fit in, Earth was full of strange things, but now I see that—"

"Here comes the finale!" Cut in Robin as a new barrage of fireworks lit the night sky. Starfire smiled, "Earth is full of amazing things too."

"Best planet I've ever been to," remarked Robin as he leaned back into his seat.

Lance chuckled at the comment as he settled into his own seat, enjoying the view. He then spotted three familiar figures next to a booth of some sort. It appeared that Beastboy had won a game of some sort and as a result had received a large stuffed chicken, which he had given to Raven, who looked less than thrilled. Cyborg simply watched in amusement as Raven rolled her violet eyes. Violet eyes, Lance had never seen violet eyes…

"STARFIRE!" Lance's head whipped around in response to Robin's yell to see Starfire being carried off by what appeared to be some robotic space octopus that was now flying past the docks. So much for the little break…

XXX

Starfire struggled as she was held in the pink tentacles of her captor. Finally, she decided to gather starbolt energy into the palm of her hand. "Wherever you are taking me, I do not wish to go!" Upon saying this Starfire let loose a wave of energy at the robot's body that caused the tentacles to loosen their hold on her. Starfire took the opportunity to fly free and began zooming back to the carnival grounds. As she tried to make her escape, Starfire shot a number of starbolts at her pursuer. But the strange machine continued to hound the girl. "No more chasing now, please." Starfire tried reasoning with it. Her words fell on deaf ears. Starfire finally made it back to the docks, zipping past her teammates whom had all congregated to assist her, with the robotic space octopus still on her tail.

"Who's her new best friend?" commented Beastboy.

"Don't know, but I can't wait to meet him…" responded Robin as he began cracking his knuckles. Starfire then led the robot space octopus around the Ferris wheel in an attempt to out maneuver her pursuer, not noticing what appeared to be a small gray frog-like creature hopping down from Ferris wheel seat to Ferris wheel seat.

"Of all the times for this thing to go on the fritz…" Lance squeaked in an irritated manner. Lance had been hoping to transform into the giant winged insect, but instead the device on his wrist had turned him into a miniscule amphibian. This wasn't the first time, but the whole thing was unpleasant nonetheless. Lance looked up as he saw Starfire and the strange machine flew around the Ferris wheel. Lance made one massive bound and landed on the robot space octopus. "Is this ride taken?" Lance asked the robot. "Hm, you're a little fast for my taste…" Lance crawled down the robot's side until he was at the point where the tentacles met the body. "Hope you don't mind me making a few adjustments!" A small gray frog then crawled into the midst of the tentacles. Lance started humming a working tune as he pulled off a small latch from the base of the machine and plunged his hand into a bundle of wires. After plucking a few selected targets, Lance poked his out of the tentacles to check his progress. The wind was not striking his face as hard as before, the robot space octopus was slowing down! Lance smiled. "Heheh, I can't break you down, but I _can_ shut you off—" Lance was cut off by his own horrified squeak when the robot space octopus came within range of the Titans. Lance narrowly avoided a pair of crocodile jaws as the robot narrowly zoomed past Beastboy and was pelted with the debris of a hotdog cart that Raven levitated into the machine. Lance was then jerked forward as Cyborg grabbed the tentacles of the robot space octopus. Perhaps making the robot space octopus an easier target had worked _too well_…

"Don't know what you did to make this thing mad, Star," grunted the mechanized teen as he pulled back on a set of tentacles, "But it couldn't hurt to apologize."

"I am…sorry?" said Starfire, half hopeful that the robot would then cease its chase. The robot space octopus broke loose of Cyborg's grip and flew forward. Robin responded quickly, pulling out his bo-staff. With one massive swing, Robin sent the robot over the edge of the dock and into the water. Beastboy looked over the edge of the dock.

"So," The changeling began, "Did we just win?" Beastboy's question was answered when the robot space octopus smashed through the dock floor and resumed its pursuit of Starfire. Robin charged forward again and leapt onto the mystery opponent.

"Don't see an off switch…" Robin said to himself as he ripped off the tip on the front end of the robot space octopus. "So I guess I'll have to make one!" Robin ripped out a number of wires from the inside of the robot and leapt away.

The wires fell past a pair of spherical eyes. "Huh, a piece of the probe's stabilizing system," mused Lance, who despite everything was still clinging to the robot space octopus, quite unnoticed, "Guess that's my cue to go." The robot space octopus had just shot itself straight up into the air. Lance made a massive jump as the robot went off like the carnival fireworks.

Robin landed beside Starfire. "Whatever that thing was," he said seriously, "It can't hurt you now."

"But…" Starfire began tentatively, "Why did it wish to hurt me _at all_…?" Starfire's head then perked up.

"Star? What is it?" asked Robin. Starfire made a small frown as she looked over her shoulder.

"I…thought I heard…something." The Tamaranean could have sworn she had heard something that sounded like a tiny scream and then an equally miniscule splash.

XXX

Lance fought his way to one of the docks as he was tossed about by ripples in the ocean water. He finally managed to grab a hold onto a piece of rope that had been left dangling over the edge. Breathing heavily out of exhaustion, Lance observed the surroundings with his bulbous yellow eyes. "Judging from the trajectory of my jump _and_ considering the extra amount of force added…I have been sent approximately six meters from my point of origin." Lance began climbing up the piece of rope when the hourglass symbol on his back began flashing red. By the time he had gotten up onto the dock, Lance was a human who was now thoroughly soaked.

Lance began making his way back to his lodgings, teeth chattering and arms wrapped around his body as he walked down the streets. What a night! He came to a carnival hoping for fun and relaxation, only to have _all this_ happen! Not only did he wind up making a fool of himself in attempting to assist Starfire, but now he had something new to worry about: the presence of the robot space octopus. Whatever it had been, it had definitely been extraterrestrial. Lance wanted to avoid areas of such attention. If some alien mechanical cephalopod could just show up, then perhaps _other_ varieties of alien technology would follow. Before his arrival to Jump City, Lance had had a decent number of skirmishes with mechanical probes. For quite some time a group of droids had been hunting him, apparently for something on his left wrist, or at least he assumed so…the first time the droids ever appeared was when he had first come into contact with the watch. Now, he just might have to look forward to another encounter, and such encounters usually didn't end well in populated areas…Lance would probably have to leave as soon as he accumulated enough money again. The noise of shoes hitting pavement brought Lance's attention back to his surroundings.

Lance looked up to see someone standing in front of him who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The new arrival was a girl in her late teens who was dressed in a black and silver suit. She had long straight black hair that somehow had a shade of purple as well as a pair of purple eyes. Oddly enough, the girl looked almost exactly like Starfire. "Excuse me." Lance said to the girl as he made to move around her, but the girl merely sidestepped to block his path, saying nothing. Lance decided to move in another direction, but _again_ the girl stopped him. "Uh," Lance was beginning to feel strangely nervous, "Can I help you?" His question was answered when he felt himself caught full blown on the mouth. Lance felt himself grow rather hot in the face despite the fact that he had been chilled to the bone earlier.

The girl quickly broke away. "Thanks for the help!" she said flirtatiously as she lightly tapped Lance's nose with a single finger. The girl then rose into the air and flew off into the night. Lance looked on in shock as his mind tried to grasp what had just happened. Who _was_ that girl? Why did she just do what she did? Did she just _fly_ away? She looked a lot like Starfire…perhaps she was another tamaranean; that would explain her ability to fly. But still, what had _that_ been about? This had been a very strange and eventful night indeed. Lance shook his head. Enough of that, he had bigger things to worry about, such as leaving, and _quickly_…


	3. First Impressions Are Usually Wrong

_Author's Note: For those of you who are wondering what happened to the original content, I'm in the process of rewriting my story._

Lance left Jump City the moment the opportunity presented itself. And as predicted, he was found again. The following weeks were marked by a number of skirmishes between Lance and the hunting party of machines. Such conflicts followed the same pattern that had existed since the very day it all began for Lance. First, the droids would find Lance and attack, forcing him to use the watch to fight in his defense. Lance would destroy a number of the droids and then lose the enemy by running off and going into hiding. Eventually, the droids would find him again and the cycle would start all over again. How many times this process had occurred was a mystery to Lance, he had lost count long ago…

Lance would sometimes reminisce about times before _long ago_, different times, another era. Another _era_, had it really been that long since he had had a home to live in, a family to provide company and comfort, something to wake up in the morning for? Well, he really never had that much time to think about anything apart from finding his needs or keeping on the move. This was what Lance had been reduced to as a result of having the dumb luck to come across an alien pod. Now, that dumb luck had him walking aimlessly through a rugged wasteland, miles from any human habitation.

The sun continued to beat down upon him, forcing him to remove his sky-blue jacket and tie it around his waist, allowing him to be somewhat cooler. His knapsack however, despite its small size, was slowly becoming a heavy weight. Not that he wasn't accustomed to it, ever since _the chase_ began, he had become quite used to _roughing it out. _The terrain was beginning to get rockier, a canyon could be seen up ahead. Perhaps he could find shelter up ahead. But he probably wouldn't get there until sunset.

Well, at least he could soon get some rest sooner or later, and so would end another day...Lance's mind jarred itself awake upon seeing six shadows casting themselves over him. Lance whipped his head upwards to see six red insect-like droids swooping down at him. "I thought I just lost you guys…" Lance growled to himself as he leapt away from the path of his pursuers, rolling down a small slope. Grunting in discomfort, he shot his right hand towards his left wrist and wrapped his fingers around the watch…

The six droids made to follow their quarry down the slope, but then stopped when a green light flashed before them. Before the droids could register what had happened, a blue blur zipped past them. The droids turned to see a trail of dust that headed for the canyon ahead. They scanned an incredibly fast moving object ahead of them and decided to chase. The blue blur, which was now a decent distance away, traveled up a plateau and stopped at the top. Looking down from its perch was a blue alien dinosaur. Lance's visor raised itself, allowing its owner to see six dots in the distance that were growing by the minute. "Well," Lance said to himself, "I guess I _could_ give them a head start…" Lance lay on his side. The droids continued to get closer. Lance scratched his stomach. The droids began warming up their weapons. Lance let out a yawn. The droids were getting closer to the plateau. Lance was falling asleep. The droids were flying up the plateau, the saurian was in their sights, target locked...

The saurian's green eyes shot open with a smirk. The droids fired and the beams of energy missed their target at the last second. "TOO SLOW!" A blue blur was once again zooming around the place. The blur leapt and one droid was smacked aside by a strong tail. The blur used the motion generated from its attack to land on a second droid. The first droid, still spinning, recklessly fired at Lance. The laser missed its intended target, which had again evaded at the last moment, and instead destroyed the second droid.

The blur landed back onto the top of the plateau and traveled down the side in a vertical fashion as the five remaining droids resumed their chase. Lance raced towards the canyon again, easily staying in the lead. The path was becoming even rockier and large slabs of earth jutting from the ground began appearing more frequently, this gave Lance an idea… When he arrived at a small clearing in the stony forest, Lance unexpectedly turned around and stopped. Unconcerned with Lance's action, the droids rushed at their target. Bad mistake. As soon as he felt that the droids were in just the right position, Lance zoomed towards the small hunting party and then swerved around them. He went around again and again, moving at an incredible speed. In almost an instant, the droids were engulfed in a blue tornado that tore through the ground, whipping up a small dust storm in the process.

All five droids were sent spinning around in the air until each one of them collided at full force with the large jutting rocks that littered the ground. Five explosions filled the air. "Takes care of that!" Lance looked at the smoldering remains in contentment. His smile vanished when he heard a noise, the sound of rock falling not to far from where he was. Lance could also hear something walking across the ground. Whatever it was, its feet were striking the ground too hard for it to be an animal with soft padded paws, delicate hooves, or small claws. He was also too far out for there to be any people around. Lance could only assume the worst. "Trying to sneak up on me are ya…?" He said under his breath.

Lance zipped up a rock formation and shifted himself towards the direction of what _was sure_ to be another droid of some sort. Peering over a ledge, Lance readied himself to pounce. A shadow cast itself near the bottom of Lance's perch. "Just a little closer and…." The shadow was close enough, Lance leapt down like a leopard. "AH—_HUH?!_" Lance had started a triumphant yell but was cut short upon seeing something he had _not_ been expecting. Instead of an insect-like droid, he was seeing a blonde-haired girl who was now looking up at him in fear and surprise. What happened next was even more unexpected.

After letting out a terrified yell, the girl's blue eyes suddenly glowed yellow and a piece of earth smacked Lance aside in midair. Lance was sent tumbling head over tail across the ground until he rolled into a rocky wall. The world had been turned completely upside down, or so it seemed to Lance, his wheel-shaped feet were in the air as his head and shoulder blades remained on the ground. The blonde girl began edging nervously toward him, her eyes filled with an odd mixture of apprehension and fascination. "Uhh," this was a tad awkward for Lance, "Hi?" He gave a cheesy toothy grin in an attempt to break the ice.

The girl let out another yell in surprise, whatever had just ambushed her was now _talking_! Her eyes glowed yellow again and the rocky wall Lance had his back against crumbled and collapsed in a great cloud of dust. The girl looked on and gasped in horror. "NO!" She hadn't meant for _that_ to happen.

"Phew, that was a close one!" The girl looked over her shoulder to see a blue pointed reptilian face. The girl yelped again out of shock, despite herself, and a pillar of rock erupted from beneath Lance's feet. Lance was sent spiraling into the air before he landed in an ungraceful heap.

"Wh-who are—, Wh-what are—," The girl was trying to form words with her mouth but her surprise was still too great. Her anxiety intensified when Lance leapt back onto his feet and poised himself into a fighting position. Lance's response had been more out of habit than from a desire to fight, but that didn't stop the girl from jumping a foot back. Lance realized his mistake when the girl made a stance of her own as her eyes and fists began glowing yellow.

"WAIT!" Lance held out his two claws in front of him in a defensive gesture, "I-I'm not out to get you, honest!" The glowing in the girl's eyes dimmed a little and her stance relaxed, but not by much.

"N-not out to get me?! You tried pouncing me!" the girl retorted indignantly. Lance felt like slapping himself on the head. After being ambushed, _what else _was she supposed to think about him?

"I was…expecting someone else?" Lance replied feebly, producing a weak smile.

"Like _who_—" The girl was cut off when she felt herself swept off of her feet by a blue blur. "H-hey!" she protested, "Let go of—" The girl stopped again in midsentence when Lance stopped running and turned them both in the direction the girl had had her back to. Her eyes widened at the sight of what appeared to be a large swarm of red insect-like droids hovering in the air. A large scorch mark was present in the spot where the girl had been standing only moments before.

"I was kind of expecting _those guys_ earlier…" explained Lance.


	4. The Second Chase

_Author's Note: For those of you who are wondering why the content of my story has change, I am in the process of rewriting my story. If this chapter has left you confused, please read the altered versions of chapters 2 and 3. _

The swarm of droids fired a barrage of laser bolts, forcing Lance to zoom away to safety with the blonde girl still tucked under his arm. The droids followed per suite in a high-speed pursuit as Lance weaved in and out between multitudes of rock formations. A number of the droids were unable to maneuver themselves quickly enough and wound up crashing in fiery explosions against the rocks. The remaining droids merely rushed past the small fires, undaunted in their chase.

"Sheesh! What'd you do get them _this mad_ at you?!" The girl was astounded by the persistence of the droids.

"No clue!" Lance shouted as a laser bolt exploded close to his side, "But trust me, stopping to try saying sorry doesn't work!" Lance couldn't help but remind himself of another robot chase that had occurred not too long ago…

"WHOA!" The girl's yell brought Lance's attention to what was in front of him, his throat went dry. A large ravine was up ahead, Lance wasn't a hundred percent sure if he could make the jump. The girl let out another shout, but this time not in distress. The girl's eyes began brimming with yellow energy and a large ramp of earth started growing across the ravine. Lance traveled across the newfound bridge as it continued to form.

"Almost there…" the girl said under her breath, the path was almost complete. But then the stone ramp stopped growing and it quickly began crumbling away at the tip. "NO!" The girl shouted in despair. Why did things have to go wrong _now_?!

Lance was still going, he was too far along as it was. There was no turning back now. Lance leapt as the ground beneath him gave way. Lance landed on to one of the falling rocks that had once been part of his path. He leapt again on to another rock, and then again on to another rock, getting closer to the other side of the ravine in the process. After a few more jumps, Lance made a massive leap of faith off of one last rock…

Lance and the girl landed safely in a heap on the other side of the ravine.

"Phew, w-we made it," panted Lance.

"Y-yeah," the girl actually gave Lance a small smile. The smile quickly vanished when odd noises caught the attention of both the girl and Lance. The two looked up to see that the swarm of droids had not only caught up to them, but had also surrounded them. "Or maybe not…" The girl felt herself get scooped up again as the droids released yet another barrage of laser bolts. Lance tried breaking through the droid ranks to escape but a series of small explosions blocked off his path. He turned in another direction to try again, but the laser bolts prevented him from finding a different escape route. It was no good the droids had Lance trapped.

After yet another unsuccessful attempt at freedom, Lance was tripped by an exploding laser and sent tumbling, dropping the girl in the process. The girl fell rolling onto the ground before stopping a few meters away from Lance. She pushed herself onto her knees and brushed a few strands of blonde hair from her face. The girl looked spun her head around until she found a blue alien dinosaur that was in the process of getting up, and about to be fired upon.

The girl quickly began gathering energy into her palms. Sure this guy had ambushed her earlier, but if he had been willing to help her, he couldn't be all _that bad_. A whirlwind suddenly picked up and the droids were caught in a vortex of dirt and rocks. Lance stared in astonishment as the droids were swept around like dandelion seeds that had been caught in a breeze. The air was soon filled with the many explosions of droids colliding with both debris and each other. The wind died down when the very last droid had been destroyed. "Whoa…" That was all Lance could say. Lance turned around wide-eyed towards the girl, whose eyes and hands were still brimming with yellow energy. In a mere matter of moments she had finished what would have taken Lance much longer to do. In his surprise, Lance hardly noticed the dial on his chest when it began blinking red.

This time it was the girl's turn to be surprised. After a red light engulfed the blue alien dinosaur, a normal looking teenage boy was left sitting in its place. "Wait?" The girl stared in shock, "S-so you're not a—" the girl frowned, "A uh…" What _had _he been?

"No, I'm just your average guy." Lance got to his feet and began brushing himself off. "Thanks for the help," Lance's smile then became a small frown, "Sorry about sneaking up on you earlier…"

"You're welcome and it's okay," Answered the girl. She gave a small smile. "So, do you have a name?"

Lance, who had just been about to continue on his way, was taken aback by the question. It had just been so long since anyone had tried making conversation with him. "Uh sure, it's Lance." It had been a very long time. "What's your name?"

"Terra, my name's Terra"

"Well Terra, thanks again for the help…" Lance turned around, "I'll just—"

"Wait? After _that _y-you're justwalking away in the middle of nowhere?" Terra asked disbelievingly.

Lance stopped in his tracks. "Sorry, it's just something I'm used to doing." He turned himself back around looking abashed. "It's just that whenever I run into those things," Lance pointed to the smoldering droid remains, "Even more wind up after me, so I—" A thought just came to Lance, "Wait a minute, what are _you_ doing out here?"

Terra's back became slightly rigid. "M-me? I'm just doing a little sightseeing that's all…" Lance could have sworn that he had seen a hint of unpleasant emotions flash across her face. For some reason Lance felt that it would be a good idea not to press the matter.

"So I guess getting chased by a bunch of robots is a normal day for you too huh?" Lance attempted to lighten the mood. It worked.

Terra gave a small laugh. "Yeah, you could say that." She looked up towards the sky. "Well, the sun's still out, we've got plenty of time left for traveling."

Lance couldn't believe his ears. "_We?"_

Terra placed her hands on her hips. "Come on, do think after nearly getting vaporized we're just going to split up?"

"It's just that this kind of_ my_ problem…those things are only after me so--"

"I nearly got fried too, remember? We're _both_ in this." Lance couldn't help but feeling that he had heard a conversation like this before…Ironic that he was now being the one lectured. "Besides, it'll be fun!" Concluded Terra. She then began walking past Lance. "Let's go slowpoke, we've got a lot of ground to cover."

Lance remained where he was for instant before he finally decided to concur with Terra's reasoning. He had to admit it, Terra made several good points. One, they did stand a better chance of surviving if they traveled together. Two, after working together against the swarm of droids it only seemed logical that they should continue staying together. And three, a little company wasn't really all that bad…

"Right behind you!" Lance made to trot in Terra's wake, feeling oddly happy at the chance of being accompanied by a fellow trekker. He glanced at his surroundings, he was in the canyon and it was _far _from being sunset. It would seem that some amount of good had come out of today. What Lance _didn't_ see was a dark figure lurking in the shadows of one of the rock formations.


	5. Getting Acquainted

"This looks like a good spot." Terra pointed to a cave that led into a large hill. After a long day of hiking through a series of rocky mazes, it was time to rest. Lance followed Terra into the cave entrance and then set his knapsack onto the ground to begin unloading his belongings. As Lance took out his sleeping bag he glanced over at Terra who was unloading her own belongings on the other side of the cave. She was also traveling light.

"So, do you camp out a lot?" Lance felt that he might as well get to start getting to know his new traveling companion.

"I'm sort of a drifter," Shrugged Terra. "And you?"

"On the run…" sighed Lance.

"From those robots?" Terra was rolling out her own sleeping bag.

"Yep," Lance rummaged around in his knapsack until he pulled out a small electric lantern.

"What for?" Terra turned herself as Lance placed the lantern between the two of them.

"Don't know…" Lance switched the lantern on, providing light to the darkening surroundings. Lance then paused. "Well, maybe I sort of do," He extended his left arm. "It has something to do with this." Terra peered close at Lance's left wrist.

Terra quirked an eyebrow. "A watch?" At least whatever was on Lance's wrist _looked _like a watch, but it didn't look like any watch she had seen before. "Where'd you get it?"

"I found it," explained Lance.

"_Found _it?"

Lance took in a deep breath. This was the first time he had told anyone about this. "It was late one night, and I was out. I was just minding my own business when suddenly BAM! The next thing I know, there's a smoldering crater with something in the middle of it." Terra leaned forward with interest. "When I got closer to the crater, I saw that it was some kind of pod. And when I got even closer the pod _opened up_…" Terra's eyes widened. "Then, well… I wasn't exactly thinking at the moment, I put my hand out and this thing," Lance motioned to the watch, "Just flew out and latched on to my wrist!" Lance could still remember the shock from that moment. "I tried taking it off, but nothing I tried worked. It was stuck to me!"

Terra looked down at the watch in surprise. "What'd you do?"

"I tried looking at it to see if there was anything that would make it come off," Lance shrugged. "I wound up finding _something_, it was this button." Lance pointed to a button that was just below the base of the watch's dial. "I pressed it to see if it would do anything and then the watch's dial popped up and—well…" Lance paused for a moment but then decided to stand up. "Here, I'll show you."

"Sh-show me what?" Terra asked keyed up.

Lance pressed the button he had been talking about earlier and the dial popped up as a small cylinder. Lance began rotating the dial around until he seemed to find what he had been looking for. "This." Lance's right hand pressed down onto the dial and a green light filled the cavern. Terra shielded her eyes until the light died down only to gape. Lance was now standing at a height of around ten feet, his body had become bulkier, and crystals had replaced flesh and hair. Terra's eyes stopped at a green hourglass symbol that was on the center of his chest.

"Wait…" It hit Terra like a load of bricks. "Is that why you were a blue dinosaur thing before? Th-the watch turned you into that!"

"Mmhm." Lance's voice had deepened considerably.

"And _tha_t_!_" Terra pointed to Lance's current form.

"Bingo!" chimed Lance.

"Any idea what you are?"

Lance frowned. "Not really, but if I had to guess…I think I might actually be…" what he was about to say next sounded absurd even to him. It had been a theory he had been working on for some. So far it had been the most feasible answer, despite how ridiculous it sounded. "An _alien _of some kind."

"An alien…" The answer sent Terra's head spinning in bewilderment. "Well, I guess it makes sense, it _did_ come from _outer space_."

"Along with a few other things…" sighed Lance as he sat down cross-legged. "Right after I found that watch—"

"You ran into a bunch of robots?" guessed Terra.

"Yeah," Lance heaved another sigh. "They came out of nowhere and just started attacking me." Pain spread across Lance's face, despite the hard exterior of the crystals. "I lost everything…" His home, his peace of mind…all gone in an instant.

"Oh…" Terra's eyebrows creased in sorrow. "I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Thanks," appreciatively muttered Lance. "Well," Lance suddenly perked up again, "That's sort of how I wound up out here." He stood up and walked towards the cave entrance. Lance then leaned down and placed a crystal hand on the stone floor. Large crystals grew from Lance's hand and onto the cave floor. The crystals continued to grow until they blocked the entrance. "It's something I do in case like this. To make sure nothing gets in," Lance explained to a wide-eyed Terra.

"Aaaand how do we get out?" Terra asked warily as she fit herself into her sleeping bag.

"We'll bust ourselves out in the morning," Lance said casually, "Relax, I've done this plenty of times and besides you can move rocks, right?" He walked back to where his sleeping bag lay and sat himself down again.

"Aren't you going to change back?" Terra couldn't see how Lance was going to fit into his sleeping bag as a large crystalline humanoid.

"The watch will time out, it always does," Lance gave a shrug, "Get some sleep, I'll still be here in the morning."

"Ok," Terra nestled herself into her sleeping bag, "Night."

"Night, Terra." Lance turned his head towards the crystal wall he had created. As long as he was in a transformed state, he thought he might as well keep watch. To Lance's relief, nothing seemed to be approaching near the cave entrance. However, if Lance had been able to see through the thick crystals, he would have seen something _further away_ from the entrance. Perched upon the top of a high hill was a lean muscular figure, cloaked in the darkness of the night sky. It had two arms folded behind its back as it surveyed the sealed cave entrance.

XXX

The next morning, two yawns reverberated off the cave walls. Lance gave a large stretch before flinching. "What's wrong? Did you sleep well last night?" Terra was already packing her things.

"M-my back's a little stiff, I think I slept on a rock or something…." Lance rubbed his back and gave it an extra stretch. After loosening his taught muscles, Lance proceeded to gather his belongings to prepare for the new day.

"Umm…." Lance turned to see Terra motioning to the crystal barrier that was blocking the entrance.

"Oh, right," Lance gave a small laugh.

XXX

It was quite still outside the sealed cave entrance. The peace soon shattered with the crystal wall. A red ten-foot tall humanoid emerged from the great cloud of dust, whistling and cleaning its four hands. Terra followed in the four-armed creature's wake. "Wow," Her travel partner had been revealing surprises nonstop. Terra surveyed the broken crystals, amazed at the raw physical strength she had just witnessed. "Is there anything else that you can do?"

"_Loads!" _Lance responded in a scratchy voice that had the roar of an avalanche. He felt good today. It was the start of a new kind of journey. He felt more energized. Even his knapsack felt lighter, though this may have been the fact that Lance was over three hundred pounds of muscle, but what the hey! "Look out world here we come!"

Lance and Terra started on their way, not knowing that from above they were being watched by a number of steel booted assassins…


	6. Guess Who's Coming for Dinner

Lance's new lucky streak was in full swing. After two additional days of traveling, he and Terra had found a paved road; a sign for an oasis, or at least Terra seemed to think so. "So where are we going again?" asked Lance as he followed Terra's lead down the road.

"It's this place I know," answered Terra, "You'll like it, trust me." Lance wiped his brow; he wished that they could get there sooner. But as much as he was tempted to use the watch to transform himself into the speedy blue dinosaur, Lance resisted, he needed to save the watch's power for when he _really_ needed it. Lance thought of asking Terra if she could use her power over the earth to transport them, but decided against it. For some reason, the geomancer found her powers to be a touchy subject. No matter, Lance could wait.

"Here we are!" After what had seemed like ages, the two were approaching a small outskirt of buildings. Lance let out a small shout of joy. "Hungry?" Lance turned his head to see Terra motioning towards a diner.

XXX

Soft country music filled Lance's ears upon the opening of a swinging glass door. Lance followed Terra inside to find himself in what appeared to be something straight out of an old movie. It was a large wooden floored room; there was a pool table near the center, the lights were dimmed in a way that provided a tranquil atmosphere, and (much to Lance's amusement) a row of bar stools were positioned alongside a charming tavern table. Terra and Lance each took a seat. A middle-aged waitress adorning a pink beehive gave the two menus. After a few moments, Terra and Lance returned the menus after placing their orders.

"So, do you come here often?" Lance decided to make conversation as he and Terra waited for their orders.

"I've been here loads of times before," said Terra, "Traveler, remember?"

"Right." Lance then redirected his attention back to the table as his order was placed before him. "Wow," Lance chuckled to himself, "Great service." He thanked the waitress and began eating. After a few bites and swallows, the conversation resumed. "So, where do we go from here?" Lance asked his travel partner.

Terra shrugged. "Don't know…" She seemed pensive and began staring into a mirror on the wall in front of them, "I guess we just go where the wind takes us." Terra broke out of her trance. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"Not really," admitted Lance. He returned his attention back to his meal. "Like you said, we just go where the wind—" Lance froze upon glancing at the mirror in front of him. He turned his head around at such a speed that it nearly snapped off of his neck. Terra nearly fell out of her seat at Lance's action.

"Wh-what is it?" The geomancer asked anxiously.

Lance surveyed the diner for a few moments before responding. "N-nothing, I just thought I saw something, that's all…" Lance hesitantly began eating again. He had been so sure that he had seen someone, or something. Whatever it had been, there had been a streak of black and copper.

XXX

"You're starting to creep me out here." They were on the road once again. Terra had just noticed Lance checking over his shoulder for the umpteenth time.

"Sorry, i-t's just that, I don't know…" Lance had been feeling uneasy ever since their visit to the diner. He simply couldn't shake this eeriness away. Night was falling and it would once again be time to rest. Luck was in their favor; Lance and Terra had the fortune of finding a cave, their ideal shelter. However, the sense of security that the rocky walls normally gave Lance was not coming over him. He wasn't even starting the usual conversation he and Terra had as they unpacked their things for the night.

"Lance…?" Terra asked uncertainly. She felt as if she could feel the tension emanating out of him from across the cave.

"I'm fine." Lance replied offhandedly. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even seem to notice that he was merely shifting his things around. Lance let out a sigh. Lance pulled out a flashlight from his knapsack and got to his feet. "I'm going to take a look around," Lance announced solemnly before heading towards the cave entrance. The unease in him still wasn't leaving. He simply had to go out there and lay his fears to rest.

"Uh, don't take too long," Terra merely stared after him.

XXX

Lance crept around the rocky terrain, covered by the cloak of the night. His lit flashlight was the only thing that revealed his position. It had been quite some time since Lance had gone on a patrol like this. Lance had always reserved such an undertaking for when he was out in the wilderness; to make sure that none of his mechanical alien pursuers were near by when he was about to sleep. However, Lance had not encountered any more of the robots since he met Terra. It had assumed by both him and Terra that the last of his hunters had been destroyed on the day Lance and the geomancer met. Lance had long since ended nightly patrols, but _tonight_ however…

Lance couldn't help but shudder at the memory of lunch at the diner. Lance's old threat may have been gone but the mysterious _thing_ he had seen in that mirror…it had just given him this feeling that there was now something _new_ to worry about. Lance turned around with a start upon hearing a rock fall. His heartbeat quickened. "Stay calm Lance," He said to himself under his breath, "It might not be anything…" Something rushed past Lance from behind. Lance whipped around upon hearing what sounded like footsteps.

"Ok, it might be something..." Lance's palms were sweating. He waved his flashlight around, desperately trying to locate whatever it was that was out there. Lance heard noises from another direction. Whatever it was, there were more of them. Lance swallowed. "Whatever you do Lance, don't panic," hysteria was rising in his voice. Lance let out a nervous laugh as he continued waving his flashlight about.

So far he wasn't finding anything. Lance flashed his light in the direction of another noise. It was merely a mouse that scurried away at the instant the light touched it. Lance sighed with relief. "See Lance, it was probably just a few mice running around…They made some noise and the sound bounced off the rocks, and uh just sounded louder!" He only managed to half convince himself. Lance waved his flashlight around again. Every stop revealed relatively harmless objects. "L-like I said before _nothing_… just a few shrubs here, some rocks," Lance was naming objects as his light passed them in an attempt to calm himself. "M-more rocks, a small tree, a creepy mask, a little more grass, nothing to worry abou—" Wait, a creepy mask?

Lance whipped his flashlight around. His lungs filled with ice as his eyes met a pair of sinister white ones. Lance started backing away as his flashlight revealed an orange-centered black mask. Lance's mouth went dry when he was able to make out a number of dark forms standing beside the illuminated figure. "Y-you guys!" Lance hadn't encountered these mechanical assailants since— His train of thought was interrupted when a metal fist cuffed him across the face. The attack sent Lance rolling across the ground until his back struck a rock wall, _hard_.

Lance pushed himself back up despite the pain that racked his body. The first thing he noticed was that the scenery around him had gone dark; his flashlight had slipped out of his hand. It was a desperate situation. Lance was outnumbered, the enemy already had the jump on him, and the dark would now make things even more treacherous for Lance, unless…

Lance's right hand quickly made for the watch's dial. " I've got _just the form_ for this…" Lance said under his breath. The masked assailants, who had been making their way towards Lance, stopped dead in their tracks when the area was bathed in a green light. The assailants tensed when a deep growl permeated through the air. Suddenly, a great snarling mass of fur and claws leapt out onto the masked robots from the darkness.

Lance's attackers all leapt out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by their new opponent as it landed onto the ground with great force. Standing before them was a beast. The creature was roughly the size of a polar bear; it was standing on four well-built legs, and possessed claws that could reduce potential prey to ribbons. Strapped to one of its shoulders was an hourglass symbol. The most peculiar feature was the beast's head, while a strong jaw that was lined with thick sharp teeth was present, nothing else was. No eyes, nostrils, ears, or anything that appeared to be a sensory organ was available.

One of the masked robots cautiously made a step forward; the beast merely stood its ground and continued growled. It seemed that the beast could not detect the assailants. Emboldened by this, the assailants leapt forward to attack. But to their great surprise, the beast responded, _very quickly_. In an instant the beast charged and swatted the androids out of the air. The beast turned itself back around after charging to face its opponents again. Odd gill-like slits had opened alongside the beast's neck. Lance mentally congratulated himself for choosing this form. The dark hardly mattered to him now. Despite his lack of eyes, Lance could still somehow _see_ his attackers. He really couldn't explain it, but he could form images in his head from simply hearing things and smelling the air. At the moment, Lance could see his astounded opponents quickly placing themselves back onto their feet. They were setting themselves to attack again, but this time their hands were reaching to their sides. Lance's legs were already moving before the androids fired advanced handheld weaponry at him. Laser bolts whizzed past Lance as he bounded towards his opponents with a roar.

XXX

Elsewhere, Terra continued to set everything she had up for the night. She glanced towards the cave entrance. "You've sure been out for a while…" Terra said to herself, "But why I'm I worrying?" Terra returned to what she was doing as tried reassuring herself, "You can take care of—" Terra's back went rigid when a roar carried itself into the cavern. Something was wrong.

XXX

A heavy paw brought itself crashing down, smashing a mechanical head against the ground. Before long, another android was snatched in midair by a strong pair of jaws and crushed. Lance tossed away the remains. _Ten down and a lot more to go…_Lance's senses told him that he was surrounded. This time, there were many more androids than that day in Jump City. Lance emitted another snarl, he would simply have to try and fight his way out as usual. He bellowed again, ran forward, and began swiping aside every android that was unfortunate enough to be in his path. Lance felt laser bolts graze various areas along his body like red-hot fires. Steel boots and claws continued to beat and hack away at him. Lance had to admit it; he was in real trouble this time. Sure, Lance had faced uneven odds many times before during his days of being chased by the alien droids, but this was different. Now, Lance was facing a new kind of opponent, a _thinking _one. Unlike the alien droids, the masked robots didn't simply rush in blindly into a fight. No, these assassins were capable of strategizing and were able to rework their tactics. They could learn how to avoid Lance's blows, find ways to bypass Lance's defenses, and even trap him. Lance was like a wild animal fighting for its life against a group of hunters.

A portion of the masked robots managed to regroup and assemble themselves into a formidable formation. Lance merely charged at the group in an attempt to scatter them as quickly as possible. To Lance's surprise, the androids flew into the air using rockets that were built into their feet, avoiding him completely. Lance was then met with a barrage of laser bolts, forcing him back. Now that he was facing airborne opponents, fighting was about to become much more difficult for Lance.

Lance was met with surprise a second time when the airborne androids were pelted with a volley of stones. An almost human smile spread across Lance's muzzle. The androids were not the only ones who relied on teamwork. "Hey, lay off!" A clumsily levitated large slab of earth then brought down the airborne androids. Lance detected a lone figure that was standing on the top of a rock wall. "You okay?" Terra called from up above. Lance gave an appreciative nod. "Then let's stomp these guys!" Terra's eyes and palms glowed yellow. Lance let out another roar and attacked another group of the masked robots with renewed effort.

Lance would swing his paws and catch the androids across the head. Occasionally, he would catch a mechanical body between his teeth and thrash fiercely. All the while, rocks flying in from above were crushing more of the mechanical assassins. The small brigade was being taken apart piece by piece. Before long, the numbers of the masked robots were reduced to the point that Lance was able to back them into a wall, Terra's wall.

The geomancer couldn't believe her luck, this battle was almost won and nothing had gone wrong. "Eat dirt!" Terra prepared to dislodge the earth from the ledge in front of her to bury the androids and finish the fight. Unfortunately, Terra's powers dislodged more than what she had been hoping for. "No, no no no no no…" Terra's eyes widened upon seeing the numerous cracks that were forming beneath her feet. She had dislodged the entire ledge. "AAAAAAAAAGH!" Terra's feet gave way to the crumbling edge as she came tumbling down. As Terra was three quarters of the way finished with her fall, she felt a strong tug at the back of her shirt. Hot breath brushed across her neck as Terra felt herself pulled this way and that. Her senses were in chaos, everything was out of order.

The confusion stopped when Terra felt herself lowered until her feet touched solid ground. Panting from shock, Terra looked behind her to see a large alien beast staring back at her and then in front of her to see a large pile of rubble. From what she had just seen, it was easy for Terra to surmise what had happened now that her mind was calm again. No functioning androids were in sight, so it was safe to assume that the avalanche had crushed the remaining androids. Judging from how she was still alive, Terra was able to deduce that Lance had snatched her in midair in a feat of acrobatics.

"Th-thanks for that," breathed Terra. Lance let out a small growl in acknowledgement. Terra looked around at the area that was now littered with strewn about mechanical parts. "Looks like we'll be sleeping well tonight huh?"

Terra chuckled grimly.

Lance responded with a nod and another growl. He lowered himself down and allowed Terra to climb onto his furry back. "Let's go…" The geomancer said wearily as she took two tufts of fur between her fingers. Lance complied and trekked off into the direction of their resting place for the night.


	7. Confessions and Solutions

"Man, what a night…" Terra was on the verge of falling asleep against her alien mount. Attempting to maintain control of her geomancy and nearly falling to her death had mentally drained her.

Lance who had taken a decent beating was limping back towards the cave. Thankfully for Lance and Terra, the watch had yet to time Lance out of the alien beast form, allowing for a fast form of transportation. They were about a few yards away from the cave when Terra's mind was awakened by a loud beeping sound. Recognizing the noise, Terra quickly leapt off of Lance before he was enveloped in a red light.

"Yeah," Lance complied with Terra's statement, "What a night!" Lance felt as if he had been used for a piñata at someone's birthday party. He was sore and stiff.

"Those guys really did a number on you back there," Terra said anxiously as they began traveling to the cave by foot, "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm ok," Lance rubbed a sore spot at his rib cage, so far nothing was broken, "_They_ got off worst, remember?"

"That's true," Terra chuckled halfheartedly.

The two had just approached the cave entrance when something popped up in Lance's mind. "So, what happened back there?"

"What happened?" asked Terra.

"The avalanche," explained Lance, "You were doing fine until that happened, did something go wrong?" Lance made a small frown, "Come to think about it, some similar stuff happened when we first met—" Two things stopped Lance from going further. The first was Terra's reaction; she turned away and quickened her pace to her side of the cavern. The second, the answer had struck Lance like a load of bricks. The earth manipulation that had occurred with Terra's emotional responses, the stone bridge that crumbled when Terra was still forming it, the fact that Terra had not tried moving the crystals Lance had used to seal a cave entrance, the avalanche…It was so clear to Lance now that he was surprised at how he had missed it.

Terra's shoulders tensed. "Just say it…"

"Terra, it's okay," Lance's voice was gentle, "You just have trouble controlling your powers it's no big deal—" Poor choice of words.

"NO BIG DEAL?" Terra whipped back towards Lance, yelling at full volume. "YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW SERIOUS THIS IS!" Terra's eyes glowed yellow and the cavern began shaking.

"Terra!" Lance shouted in alarm as debris began falling from the cavern ceiling. Terra's eyes widened in dismay.

"NO!" Terra fell to her knees, placed her hands on the back of her head, and curled up. "Calm down, don't lose control, don't lose control…" Terra continued talking to herself until both the rumbling in the cave and the glow in Terra's eyes died down.

Lance tentatively stepped forward. "Terra…?" Lance was genuinely concerned; he could hear the sounds of strangled sobs.

"See?" Terra looked up at Lance, her eyes were filled with tears, "This is why I can't stay anywhere!" Her voice was trembling with emotion, "Everywhere I go I cause accidents like this! I-I try helping people, but I just, I just—" Terra was too full of frustration to finish her sentence. There was then an awkward silence.

Lance looked thoughtful. "I think I know what you mean…"

Terra's posture straightened somewhat. "You do?" She asked in surprise.

Lance nodded. "It was from before I met you. I was still being chased by those alien robots," Lance took a seat close to Terra, "I couldn't stay in one place for very long because they would catch up to me. And whenever they did catch up we'd fight and people got hurt…"

Terra's posture straightened even more. She had never really thought about Lance's experiences that way. Terra had assumed that Lance of all people wouldn't have to worry about harming others. _He _had control…

"And believe it or not," Lance was now wearing a small smile, "The watch has some of its own problems." He tapped on the watch with a single finger to emphasize his statement.

Terra sat up completely. Was she hearing things correctly? Lance had problems with his powers too? "What kind of problems?" Terra asked slowly.

"Well, sometimes when I transform, the watch times me out at the worst moment. And also, the watch might turn me into the wrong alien." The smile on Lance's face grew. He thought of a way to cheer his friend up. "Get this, when I do turn into the wrong alien," Lance's fingers spun across his watch's dial, "It's usually this one." Lance was quickly enveloped in a green light.

When the light died down, Terra couldn't believe her eyes. At her side was something that looked like a five inch-tall gray frog. "Ta-da!" Lance made a ridiculous pose as if he were standing in the spotlight of a stage.

Terra let out a small chuckle at the sight. "Thanks for that," She looked down at her feet. "But that still won't fix anything," Terra's hand fumbled with the butterfly clip in her hair.

"Would talking about it work?" Lance asked tentatively as he pulled up a small rock to sit on.

"I guess," sighed Terra as Lance looked up at her imploringly with his yellow bulbous eyes. "You probably want to know how it all started for me, huh?"

Lance nodded. If they were to find the root of the problem they might as well start with the source.

Terra took in a deep breath. What she was about to reveal were chapters of her life that she long since tried bury away. "Like you, I didn't always have powers. I got them later on…" Her hand clenched around her clip. "They were _given_ to me."

Lance sat up a little straighter. "_Given…?_" Judging from the way Terra had said it, there was definitely something unpleasant behind the story.

Terra shut her eyes tight from the welling emotions. "I was a human lab rat!" She shouted. Lance's eyes bugged even more so out of their sockets at the revelation. "S-some scientists took me a-and turned me into this, j-just so they could use me!" Hot tears began streaming down her face. "And like I said before, all I've been able to do i-is cause disasters!" Terra's hand tensed when she felt the clip break in two. Her hand clenched over the pieces, gathering them into her palm. She placed an open palm before herself, staring miserably at the contents. Nothing was going right. "What am I going to do?" Terra said to herself miserably.

Lance let out a depressed sigh as he got up and made his way to Terra's open palm. "Well, you've definitely got your work cut out for you," admitted Lance as he plucked the pieces of the hair clip from the geomancer's hand. "But it might not be something impossible to get through," Lance's dexterous gray fingers started fiddling with the pieces. "When I first got stuck with the watch, I didn't think I could handle its power either. Every time I used it," Lance was struggling to bend one of the pieces. "It was like playing the lottery, I didn't know what to expect—" The piece of the hair clip snapped back and sent Lance flat on his back.

"So what'd you do?"

"Nothing at first. Those robots that used to chase me kept me _pretty _busy," Lance got back onto his small webbed feet and returned his attention to the hairclip pieces. "I just managed to teach myself a few tricks when I was trying to avoid getting vaporized by those wacky—" He dropped the pieces when the alien form's advanced mind granted him an epiphany. "That's it!" Lance slammed a gray fist into his palm. "What you need is a drive!" Both Lance and Terra had had power thrust upon them. Neither of them had asked for it or had control over it. However, only one of them had been in a situation where mastering a skill meant survival, a time when the power _had _to be used. In his enthusiasm, Lance returned his attention to the broken hair clip pieces. "You'll be able to face your problem head on, and with a little elbow grease," After a few snaps and clicks, Lance walked over to Terra with something in his hands. "You can make something work." He held out a fully repaired butterfly hair clip.

Terra blinked away a tear and smiled as Lance returned the hair clip. "You really think so?"

Lance placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his miniscule chest. "Starting tomorrow you'll be following the Lance Training Program!"

XXX

"This looks like a good spot."

It was noon and the sun was now high above a flat plain that was littered with jutting stones. Normally, Terra and Lance would have gotten up earlier, but last night's ordeal with the androids had called for well deserved rests. The two were standing at opposite ends of a dirt ring that was lined with stones. "All right," Lance fiddled with the watch's dial. "Let's get started!"


	8. An Unsettling Discovery

Terra groggily woke up one morning to find herself far from rested. It had been a week since she had started 'Lance's Training Program' and since then Terra and Lance had been continuously training in sparring sessions. Each day, Lance would assume a number of his alien forms to help Terra develop a particular skill. First, there was the blue saurian creature Lance had been when they first met; its speed had been used to help hone Terra's ability to react. There had also been the crystal creature, the eyeless beast, the four-armed humanoid, and even a being made of molten rock; their sheer power tested Terra's control over her own strength in more direct confrontations. Lance had even transformed into a living metallic mass, a large flying alien insect, and a creature that greatly resembled a classic ghost; he would then possess near invulnerability or quick reflexes that would enable him to be used for target practice.

Terra rolled over in her sleeping bag, her muscles aching. Practice had also meant taking the brunt of Lance's alien forms. Not that Lance was having any easier of a time. He had taken his own share of beatings from Terra's geomancy and had his own problems regarding his accidental transformations.

Most of these transformations resulted in Lance becoming the small gray frog-like creature. If this occurred both Lance and Terra would merely wait until the timer ran out. However, there had been the time Lance had accidently transformed into a bipedal aquatic organism. This had resulted in a disastrous and terrifying fiasco in which Lance was left gasping for breath on hot dry land. If the two hadn't brought along canteens filled with water there would have been no telling what would have happened. At least there had been some progress, _very slow _progress. Terra sunk deeper into her sleeping bag. Perhaps if they kept this up for a few months, she could avoid creating an avalanche…

"M-morning…" Terra turned to see Lance sitting up in his makeshift bed.

"Yeah, _morning_…" Terra mumbled groggily as she rubbed the side of her head. Despite the fact that they had slept in, the two were still far fairly drained from the week's activities. Lance, who decided that perhaps a few minutes more wouldn't be so bad, decided to fall back into his makeshift bed.

"Ow!" Lance shot straight back up.

Terra whipped her head around. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing, I just laid down on something…" Lance's body was quite sensitive at the moment and even the smallest object could cause discomfort. He reached under his sleeping bag to remove the object of distress. "What is it with me and these small rocks—" Lance's face froze when he picked up a small metallic object, definitely not a rock. It was a circular object that was completely gray except for an orange center. At the orange center was a stylized black letter S. It appeared to be a small electronic.

"Hey, i-is that…?" Terra had seen what Lance had pulled out and was staring at it wide-eyed. Terra was coming to the same conclusion Lance was coming to: They were being watched.

Lance and Terra immediately rose to their feet despite their exhaustion and began investigating the cavern floor and walls. "I can't believe it!" exclaimed Terra, "Someone's actually spying on us!"

"Yeah," Lance was equally tense, "And look at the design," He produced the electronic, "I-it looks like those masked robots we fought!"

"I know," Terra said nervously.

Lance's mind was racing. How long had he and Terra been watched? He remembered sleeping on a small hard object in another cave earlier on, could that have been another listening device? And if the person who planted the device had also created the masked robots…Lance shuddered at the implications. For now, all that he and Terra could do was to see if they could find any more surveillance devices. They could then try to avoid detection or somehow get to the bottom of this. "Well," Lance began, "So far everything on my end seems clean," Lance turned towards Terra, "Anything on your end?"

"Not yet," responded Terra. The geomancer was scouring the rocks on the cavern wall. "But that doesn't mean I won't find any—" Terra stopped when a rock on the wall turned like a doorknob at the touch of her hand. Terra grabbed the rock and twisted it even further. The rock swung aside as if attached to a latch, revealing a set of computer keys.

"Whoa…" Lance walked over to Terra upon seeing what she had discovered.

"What do you think it is?" asked Terra.

Lance began fiddling with the watch's dial. "Only one way to find out…" He breathed. After being engulfed in a green light, Lance was transformed into the small gray frog-like creature. Lance then walked up to the wall. "Um," Lance motioned his head towards the set of computer keys that were high above him.

Terra chuckled to herself and reached down. "Here," Terra extended an open palm that Lance jumped into, "Going up!" Terra lifted Lance up and held him out to the computer keys.

Lance cracked his tiny knuckles. "A computerized lock, huh? Well, let's see what I can do…" Lance's small gray hands began flying across the computer keys as he began punching in code after code. It was barely a minute before a beeping noise was emitted from the computerized lock. An odd noise came from the wall at the back of the cavern. Lance and Terra turned to see a camouflaged automatic door open to reveal a lit passage way. "Piece of cake…" squeaked Lance; he rubbed a fist against his chest in a satisfied manner.

Terra looked solemnly at the door. "This could be it," She said flatly. Their tracker could be at the end of the passage. Terra felt Lance hop onto her shoulder.

"We can take it," Lance squeaked reassuringly. He gave a small smile that Terra returned.

"Well, here we go," Terra stepped through the doorway and began making her way through the passageway.

***

The passageway spiraled and inclined downwards as it went along. It was leading underground. Terra progressed silently along the passageway with Lance perched on her shoulder. Neither of them spoke, their focus was at what laid ahead. Both of their bodies were tensed, prepared for any unpleasant surprises. After what seemed like hours, the two came across a hermetically sealed metal door that was equipped with yet another computerized lock.

Terra and Lance gave each other sideways smirks. This was too easy. Terra scooped Lance up with a single palm and held him out to the computerized lock. Lance then proceeded to crack the code of his second lock for the day. Again, Lance's alien brain succeeded in causing the door to swish open in little time.

After Lance hopped back onto her shoulder, Terra stepped through the doorway to a sight that astounded them. They had walked into a very large cavern which was a room equipped with machinery. Most of the machinery appeared to be old and was covered with rust, but most of it appeared to be still functional. "What is this place?" wondered Terra.

"Beats me," shrugged Lance, "But…judging from both the state of things and the present equipment, I believe that we have encountered an abandoned research facility, likely to have been used for military purposes." Terra stared at Lance wide-eyed. Lance shook his head and placed a hand over his dazed face. "It's the watch talking," explained Lance. Sometimes the watch would change aspects of Lance's nature when he was transformed. Terra and Lance paused when they heard odd noises coming from another area in the facility. Their faces hardened.

"Get ready," Terra's fists clenched. Lance nodded in acknowledgment. Terra could feel Lance's amphibious fingers and toes dig into her shoulder as she crept towards the source of the noise. When the noises grew loud enough, Terra crouched behind a piece of machinery. Terra and Lance each held their breath. Someoneor _something_ was only feet away.

Terra motioned to Lance with her head to signal for him to take a look ahead. Lance complied and leapt from Terra's shoulder to climb up the side of the machinery using his suction-cupped fingers. Lance peered over the top of the machine with his bulbous yellow eyes. What he saw was one of the most bizarre things he had seen yet.

It was a circle of large fluid filled glass containment tubes. Lance could make out large dark forms floating in the tubes, but he couldn't tell what they were. He couldn't tell what any of things in the tubes were because they were nothing he had ever seen before. They appeared to be preserved specimens of creatures that had been created from mixing and matching various animal parts.

And to top everything off, a strange person was attending to the fluid filled tubes. He was a silver-haired old man whose skin had an odd green tinge. Despite the laboratory setting, the old man was only wearing a thin sleeveless shirt and appeared to be using colander for a helmet.

Lance leapt back onto Terra's shoulder. "Someone's here all right," Lance whispered into Terra's ear, "He might be our mystery guy. If we're going to do anything we might want to do it fast, while we still have the element of surprise—" A loud beeping noise filled the facility as the hourglass symbol on Lance's back began blinking red. Terra and Lance's eyes each widened with terror.

The old man turned away from his work. "Who dares intrude?!" He demanded angrily. His angered face contorted even further when he saw a red light flash from behind a piece of machinery. The red light was all too familiar to him. The old man flipped a switch on a control panel and the air was soon filled with the sounds of doors sealing shut. He then flipped another switch, which activated a pair of mechanical claws from overhead. With a few more movements of his hands across the control panel, the metal claws were manipulated to reach behind the piece of machinery of interest. "Thought you could outwit me, didn't you?" growled the old man, "But now you shall see who—" The old man's brow furrowed in surprise when Lance and Terra came into view, struggling in the grip of the metal claws, their arms tightly bound to their bodies. "Y-you're not the Tennysons…" said the man in incredulously.

"Tennysons?" grunted Lance, "Who you're talking about?"

The old man caught sight of Lance's left wrist. "Oh, I believe you _do know_…" The old man began slowly, "You wear the same device as that Tennyson boy!" Lance and Terra were brought closer to the man's face. "You are undoubtedly collaborating with the Tennyson family in hopes of defeating me!" snarled the old man. "Do not deny it!'

"Defeat you?! We don't even know who _you _are!" shouted Terra.

"So they didn't even bother to fill you in on the details," The old man stroked his chin, "But I suppose there is no harm in you learning the name of your better," The old man smirked before he made a fancy sweep with his hand and motioned to himself. "I am Dr. Animo."


	9. The Third Chase

Lance's mind was racing. First, he and Terra were facing certain peril at the hands of some deranged scientist. And second, he had just heard news of _another device_. There was another, like him! "S-someone else has a watch like this?" Lance said out loud in spite of himself. He was stunned, floored.

"Don't play games with me!" snapped Doctor Animo.

"Then don't play games with _us_!" retorted Terra.

"Yeah!" chimed Lance. He then thought of something. "Like—tracking us—," After much effort Lance managed to move his trapped arm enough so that he could reach into his pocket. He pulled out the small electronic he had found earlier. "And then sending your robot goons after us!"

"I know of no such thing!" barked Animo as he snatched the electronic out of Lance's hand. The scientist then peered at the electronic. "Firstly, this is clearly not my design! And secondly, I do not rely on robotics…"

"Then what _do you_ use?" growled Terra. She stopped struggling against the metal claw when she caught her first sight of the large fluid filled glass tubes. Terra was close enough to see that floating in the glass tubes were large misshapen animals.

Dr. Animo turned in the direction Terra was starting at and smirked. "I believe my genius speaks for itself." He then walked towards his suspended creations with his arms collected behind his back. "As you can see I have taken up residence in this former research compound to further perfect my technique," Dr. Animo turned his face back towards his captives. A sinister smile worked its way across his face. "It's simply _amazing_ what some people will just throw away…" Dr. Animo walked towards Lance and roughly grabbed his left wrist. "Or _deliver_!"

"You want the watch?" Lance asked bemusedly.

"No, I'm simply _admiring_ it," Dr. Animo's voice was laden with contemptuous sarcasm. "OF COURSE I WANT IT YOU SIMPLETON!" Lance's nose crinkled in disgust as he felt specks of angry spit cover his face. "This device could very well be the key to my success." Dr. Animo peered closer at the watch. "_You _may not know it, but a device such as this contains vast quantities of DNA that if used _correctly_ can give me my rightful place in history!" Animo was becoming ecstatic.

"Your…place in history?" Terra asked tentatively.

"Since your accomplices have left you so poorly informed, allow _me _to elaborate in words that even _you two_ can understand," Dr. Animo pointed to the odd colander-like device on his head. "First, I create and accelerate mutations in organisms. Second," He motioned to the facility around them. "I use the tools in this former research facility to further improve my technique." Dr. Animo glanced at the glass containment tubes, which now cradled his most recent creations as he monitored their conditions, testing to see what improvements had been made or how he could make them. "And thirdly," Dr. Animo seized Lance's left wrist again. "I make use of the alien DNA from this device," The doctor made a triumphant fist with his remaining hand. "And then the world shall finally know the genius that is Aloysius Animo!"

Lance turned his head towards Terra. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That he'll have to wait a little longer?" A smirk spread across the geomancer's face. Even if Lance's watch was recharged again his arms were bound too tightly to his body for him to do any good. Terra on the other hand…

"Mmhm," Lance responded with his own wry smile.

"My thoughts too!" With that Terra balled her hands into fists of yellow glowing energy.

Dr. Animo's eyes widened in astonishment. "What in the name of—AAAAHHHHH!" He was shot straight into the air by a pillar of earth that rose from beneath his feet. A second pillar of earth then rose from the ground and smashed into the component keeping the metal claws aloft. The two mechanical claws loosened their hold, allowing Lance and Terra to drop onto the ground.

"Way to go Terra!" exclaimed Lance as he got onto his feet.

"No big," shrugged Terra as she dusted herself off. She couldn't help but smile, for once her powers were working!

The two teens then looked up at the sound of annoyed grunting. Dr. Animo was clumsily hanging from a rafter, his feet dangling below him in a comical fashion. "D-don't start congratulating yourselves just yet!" Dr. Animo finally managed to pull himself into a stable position. He moved a hand towards his belt. "I wasn't planning to do this for a few more weeks," The doctor's face contorted itself in fury. "BUT YOU TWO HAVE FORCED MY HAND!" Dr. Animo pulled out a remote control and pressed a button. A series of loud blaring noises filled the room. Lance and Terra didn't have to look far to find the source of the noises. The large glass containment tubes were emptying their suspension fluids…

"Uh oh!" Lance's eyes widened in unpleasant surprise. After the fluids drained completely, the glass components of the containment tubes retreated into their mechanical bases. Monstrous shrieks and roars filled the air as Animo's mutated creations awakened from their slumber. Terra and Lance began backing away. They both stopped when they turned their heads to see that the doors to the facility were still sealed shut. Lance turned his head to his left wrist upon hearing a familiar beeping sound. "Looks like there's only one way out of this one…"

XXX

On the surface above, in an area that was not too far away from the abandoned facility, five super powered teens were trekking across the rocky terrain.

"Aw man," whined Beastboy as he wiped his sweat covered brow. The green changeling and his teammates were trekking the desolate outskirts of Jump City. "Whydda we have to come all the way out here?"

"Because when somebody reports something strange, we have to look into it," Raven curtly responded. "Even if it means having to go out into the middle of nowhere." As much as the empath enjoyed venturing out in the blistering heat, the Titans had a job to do. For quite some time there had been reported sightings that made Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster sound perfectly plausible.

Beastboy nearly let out an incredulous snort. "Come on," Beastboy looked around at his surroundings: nothing but bare barren earth all around. "What could possibly be out here?" He swept his arms around to make his point. "I'm telling you there's nothing out here but—" Beastboy was cut off by the sounds of terrified screams that were carrying themselves through the air.

XXX

"O-okay, I think we lost it," gasped Terra as she attempted to hold herself up by her kneecaps. She and what appeared to be a hulking crystalline humanoid were hiding in a cluster of boulders. "N-next time we find a secret door, l-let's just forget about it..."

"Y-yeah," said Lance in agreement. If his current form had sweat glands he would have been wiping his brow. It had been nothing short of a miracle but the two had escaped back to the surface. At first, everything had been coming up roses. Through their combined efforts Lance and Terra had been able to repel Dr. Animo's creations. But then the good doctor released what he had called one his 'masterpieces.' _That_ had forced the two to make a hasty retreat in which they were forced to break their way out of the facility. But despite their escape, the game of cat and mouse was far from over.

Both Lance and Terra's postures straightened at a loud rumbling. "Uh oh…" The two tilted their heads up as a shadow cast itself over them. Staring down at them was the pride and joy of Dr. Animo's recent creations, a monstrous 30-foot long black scorpion. "Time to go!" Lance unleashed a small barrage of crystal shards at the scorpion before running off with Terra. The attack did little against the mutant's thick armor as it undauntedly plowed forward.

"I think I'm actually beginning to miss the robots!" Lance stated with mixed wryness and alarm.

"You and me both!" replied an equally panicked Terra. The two were forced into the cross-country tour of their lives as the oversized invertebrate chased them out of the rocky grove and into the open of the rocky flat. Terra's lanky body quickly allowed her to take the lead. Lance's diamond body was weighing him down in the run, but his long strides kept him in Terra's wake and ahead of their pursuer.

Lance looked over his shoulder after a few moments into the chase. The scorpion was catching up and its quarry would soon tire…Time for a new mode of transportation. "Hey, Terra! Guess what?" Lance shouted, "Taxi!" Lance put on short extra burst of speed and scooped Terra up with the sweep of a large arm. He then pointed his remaining free arm towards the ground and began growing crystals from his limb. The crystals grew into the ground to the point that they formed a platform beneath Lance's feet and began propelling him forward, leaving behind a trail of crystal. Both Lance and Terra let out conquering cheers at their triumph. Nothing was going to stop them now! Their celebration was cut short when they turned their heads around to see the mutated scorpion still hot on their trail. "You've got to be kidding me!" Lance exclaimed in dismay. Terra frantically looked around, hoping to find some way out, until…

"Lance, I've got it!" Lance looked down to see Terra pointing towards something in the distance. "Head over there, I've got an idea!" Lance gazed in the direction of Terra's finger to two rock walls that formed a narrow pass between them. Feeling that there was nothing left to lose, Lance steered the crystal transport towards the desired direction. They reached the location in a manner of moments. Terra squirmed out of Lance's hold and leapt onto the ground.

"Terra, wh-what are you doing?" panicked Lance. Just what _was_ Terra thinking? She was now running towards the narrow pass and _away _from the crystal transport, the only thing that had been keeping space between the two teens and a homicidal arthropod.

"Just trust me on this!" Terra shouted over her shoulder. Lance let out a distraught sigh before leaping off of the crystal transport to follow his teammate.

"Hope you know what you're doing…" Lance said under his breath. He released another volley of crystal shards at the scorpion, hoping to stall it before following Terra into the pass.

Terra's heart was pounding in her ears along with the monstrous scorpion's steps. She looked at the pass's rocky walls frantically, desperately looking for a spot to carry out her plan…"TERRA!" The blonde turned to see Lance on her heels; his yellow crystal eyes were full with terror. Terra's own blue eye's widened in fear upon seeing Lance's reason for panicking. The scorpion was finally gaining on them. "IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, DO IT QU—" Lance was cut short when a titanic claw seized him by the waist, lifted him up, and (much to Lance's horror) placed him towards the entrance of its segmented mouth…

KRAK!

The scorpion screeched in pain before tossing Lance aside in disgust. A silicon-based organism was _not _its idea of a meal! It wanted _meat_, something that it could sink its chelicerae into instead of breaking them upon! It didn't have to look very far. Terra soon found herself ducking and weaving to avoid being crushed by a pair of pincers. A narrow miss made by the scorpion's massive tail sent Terra sprawling.

Terra felt her hair fall onto her face. She panicked. It could only mean one thing. Terra quickly looked around to see her butterfly hairclip a few feet away from her. She reached out to grab it but a second jab from the giant scorpion's tail forced her away. Terra forced herself back onto her feet and began backing away to put some distance between her and the beast. A sinking feeling hit Terra's stomach when she felt her back press against a rock wall. The scorpion made to strike again…

"Hey, buddy!"

The scorpion screeched as it was forced to make a step backwards.

"Claws to yourself!"

The creature turned its head around to see that the inedible prey that it had tossed aside had reentered the scene. Lance had somehow managed to grab onto the scorpion's tail and was using all of his alien strength to pull it back. The scorpion let out an angry shriek before flexing its tail, lifting Lance off of the ground.

"Oh, snap…" Lance was flung straight into a rock wall, shattering the spot he landed in upon contact. With the distraction out of the way, the scorpion returned its attention to its more appetizing prey. The scorpion quickly discovered that, in the midst of its recent scuffle, Terra had slunk to a corner that was a few yards further along the rock wall. As the scorpion moved in for the kill, it failed to notice that its meal was no longer cowering. The distraction Lance had provided was all Terra had needed.

Wind began lashing around as Terra's eyes glowed yellow. Another thing that the scorpion had failed to notice was the natural stone bridge overhead that linked the two opposing sides of the pass. The rock formation glowed with Terra's power before it came tumbling down upon the beast below it. As the structure struck the creature there was a loud crash and crunch, a squeal of pain, and then silence. It was over.

Lance uncovered himself from the rubble he had been buried in upon being thrown against the rock wall. He looked at the newer pile that enclosed the vanquished enemy. "Phew," Lance sighed in relief. "Glad that's over…" He gave a smile to an equally pleased Terra.

"Whoa, those two actually won!" exclaimed a new voice. It called from above. Lance and Terra both looked up to see five figures looking down upon them from a ledge.


	10. The Meeting

"Who are they?" questioned an astounded Beastboy. After hearing the pair of yells, it had not been difficult for the Titans to find the source of the commotion. Upon seeing the monstrous scorpion pursuing and attacking a blonde girl and a strange crystal creature, the team had prepared to intervene. But now, it was clear that the mystery duo had not needed their assistance. The two had looked up in the team's direction upon hearing Cyborg's surprised remark.

The blonde girl was the first to react. With a mere gesture the girl used her power to elevate the earth beneath her feet to carry herself up to the ledge the Titans were standing upon. "What?" said the geomancer as she confidently strode off of her lift and onto the ledge. "Haven't you guys seen a superhero before?" The Titans had been staring back at her in astonishment. It was not everyday that they encountered someone who demonstrated immense power just after appearing to be the defenseless victim.

The team leader was the first to step forward. "I'm—"

"ROBIN!" At that moment, the crystal creature had made its own arrival on a lift created from the crystals that it grew from its arms. "Long time no see!" it exclaimed as it joyfully leapt onto the ledge.

Robin was taken aback. "Do I know you—" Before he could finish his question, Robin spotted the hourglass symbol on the creature's chest. He had seen that symbol before. "_Lance?_"

Everyone looked between Robin and the crystal creature wide-eyed. "Y-you know a _Titan?_" asked an astounded Terra as she pointed between the two.

"You know a ten-foot tall walking talking rock?" Raven asked Robin quizzically.

The crystal creature made to speak. "Actually," The hourglass symbol on the crystal creature's chest began flashing red and emitted a loud beeping sound. The crystal creature vanished in a flash of red light, revealing its true form: an adolescent human male. "I'm closer to being _five_ feet tall."

"I met him when we first fought the H.I.V.E," Robin explained to his shocked teammates.

"Wow," Lance scratched the back of his head in his excitement. "Guess I traveled in a one big circle…" He said under his breath.

"It's so cool to meet you guys!" Terra had gotten over her shock of Lance's acquaintance and decided to join the conversation. "I'm Terra," She looked to the rest of the Titans. "And you're Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and—"

"BOYBEAST!" The green changeling panicked the moment Terra turned to him. "I-I mean Bassboot!" He gave a defeated groan before changing into a turtle so that he could retreat into his shell from sheer embarrassment.

"Beastboy?" Lance and Terra chimed simultaneously. Beastboy sheepishly reverted back to his human form, looking at Terra with a blush on his face.

Terra gave Beastboy a small wave. "Hi."

Beastboy gave a tremendous giddy shriek in response before going weak at the knees and tipping over. Even an idiot could have seen what was occurring.

"Curiosity abounds!" Starfire excitedly flew up to Lance and Terra. "Please, where do you two come from? How did you get here? What are your favorite colors? Do you two wish to be my friends?"

Lance and Terra were at a loss for words for a few moments as the redheaded alien floated an inch away from their faces. "Um…" Terra was the first one to recover. "Earth."

"We walked," Lance replied feebly, his eyes still wide in astonishment from Starfire's enthusiasm.

"Mine's red," Terra answered Starfire's third question.

"S-so's mine…and…"

"Sure."

"Can't see why not."

It was a nanosecond later that Lance and Terra realized that they had put their physical well-beings at stake. In a flash, Starfire had pulled the two into a hug with inhuman strength. "HELLO, NEW FRIENDS!" chirped the Tamaranean.

XXX

Unbeknownst to the group, a shadowy ledge existed above them. In these shadows, a lean and muscular figure remained hidden as it looked down at the scene below. "Don't get too attached to them, my young friends," whispered a deep monotone voice. "_I _saw them first…"

XXX

"And after we took out the giant gerbils, he sent that giant scorpion thing at us, we busted out, and well, here we are," Lance then took a sip from his glass of water. He was currently at Titans Tower, seated across from Robin at the dinner table. The Titans had kindly invited him and Terra into their home, and the two were making themselves comfortable. Lance had been catching up with Robin by recounting the recent encounter with Dr. Animo. Meanwhile, Terra was being given a personal tour of the tower by Beastboy, Starfire, and Cyborg.

"So I guess we don't have to worry about Animo?" asked Robin, wondering if Lance and Terra's episode had ensured that there would be no further reports of mutated creatures roaming around the place.

"Not after the way we left the place," Lance chuckled to himself as he took another quenching swallow of water. It was not everyday that he could enjoy a simple glass of water like this. His recent ventures in the wasteland had not permitted him to appreciate such a luxury so casually.

Robin noticed this; the way Lance was enjoying a simple glass of water with such gusto. He peered closer. Come to think of it, Lance also appeared more haggard than when they had first met in that sewer system. What had Lance and Terra said about themselves? Something about going where the wind took them? Translation: they were drifters who had no place to go or a reliable source for necessities. A loud thump on the living room couch only confirmed Robin's suspicions. Terra, after returning from her tour, had just collapsed onto the piece of furniture and had fallen fast asleep. Like Lance, she had also shown signs of having experienced physical hardships, even devouring entire platefuls of Starfire's homemade glorg without second thought. Beastboy, Starfire, and Cyborg continued to hover over the girl with immense interest.

"Um," Lance fiddled his fingers around his glass. "Thanks for letting us stay for the night."

Cyborg looked up. "Anytime."

Beastboy shrugged. "You _did_ save our butts that other time. It's the least we can do."

"And for that," chipped Starfire, "I shall recite for you the poem of gratitude, all 6000 verse—"

"Have you and Terra thought about staying?" Robin decided to pop the question to spare them all from the poem.

Lance did a double take. "Staying? As in actually living—"

"It is not as if the two of you have a place to call your home," added a concerned Starfire.

"You could stay here with us!" exclaimed Beastboy.

"You would make great additions to the team." added Cyborg.

Lance nearly fell out of his chair. "Wh-what? Y-you're serious?" Living with the Titans was one thing, but actually being part of their team carrying out missions was quite another. "W-we've only been here for—"

"Lance, I've seen you in action before. Today, we all saw a little more of that action, " Robin gave Lance a serious look, "You just might have what it takes," He looked between Lance and the sleeping form on the couch, "Both of you."

Lance sank into his seat from the degree of the situation.

"How about this?" proposed Robin, "You two can train with us tomorrow, we'll see how it goes, and all of us can make a decision from there."

Terra's sleeping form suddenly tensed.

XXX

Hours later, in the dead of the night, Lance found himself sitting again at the kitchen table, unable to sleep. Sure he once had to sleep with the threat of being ambushed, but this…

Soft footsteps coming from down the hall broke Lance out of his train of thought. He turned to the source of the noise and was able to make out a slim figure that was approaching the living room couch, carrying a small bundle of some kind. Lance could make out a pair of pointed ears.

"Hey, Terra," Beastboy's whisper carried itself towards the kitchen, "I-I thought you might want an extra blanket…" He paused upon reaching the couch and then turned his head about before he spotted Lance at the kitchen table. "Oh, uh," The green changeling shifted nervously for some reason, "You're still up?"

Lance shrugged. "Guess I had a lot on my mind."

"Well, it's not everyday you get offered a spot on the team," said Beastboy in agreement. He walked towards the kitchen table and sat across from Lance.

"It's not that I'm worried about not being able to do anything," admitted Lance, "Believe me, I can hold my own in a fight. I-I guess, I'm just not too sure whether or not I can do this kind of job."

"It's easy," stated Beastboy, "You just go around the city, follow a few orders, stomp a few bad guys, and then," Beastboy leaned back in his chair, "It's nothing but free cable and all the tofu you can eat!"

Lance let out a small chuckle. "The last part sounds pretty nice, but there's still the first part. I've…never really been that much of a superhero, or part of a team like this." Come to think about it, the only time he had gone into action was when he was trying to save himself from getting shredded, crushed, or vaporized by the alien droids. Whenever he had fought on another's behalf, it had been because the danger they were in had been brought by him. He had merely been taking responsibility for the threats.

"Oh, come on," laughed Beastboy, "I still remember that day you first showed up. You were that, big bug thing right?" Beastboy laughed at the memory, "You totally slimed Jinx!"

Lance's posture straightened a little bit. "Yeah…I did," he said slowly. Beastboy had unknowingly reminded him of something. On his first day in Jump City, he had rushed towards the sight of the action without actually knowing the precise cause of the commotion. He had assumed that it had been the alien droids that had been following him. He had gone because to him, doing nothing would have meant that any destruction caused by the droids would have been on his head. However, it had not been the droids that day. In fact, the H.I.V.E students had nothing to do with him. Yet, he had intervened anyway and even saved a few lives in the process. He had even fought side by side with Robin and succeeded. Hadn't he shown qualities fitting a Titan? He could have just left the Titans to their fate at the hands of the H.I.V.E. Then there was that night Starfire was being pursued by that robotic whatever-it-was. That time he knew from the beginning that the situation had nothing to do with him, and yet he had still done his part to intervene. Why had he gone into action that time? Did all this mean he was _Titan _material?

"Dude, you ok?" puzzled Beastboy, "You're kinda spacing out on me here."

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine." Lance was brought out of his train of thought for a second time.

"Maybe, you should get some sleep," suggested the green changeling.

"Yeah, guess I should," Lance got up from his seat and stretched. He was about to return to the spare bed that had been provided for him when he thought of something. "Oh, if you're looking for Terra, she went out. She said she wasn't going to go beyond the tower's base."

Beastboy blushed and grinned sheepishly, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Th-thanks…" he burbled. With that, Beastboy shuffled off to find Terra. Lance then made his way to the former storage room that contained the futon that had been set up for him. He chuckled to himself under his breath. Lance had been here for less then a day and it was clear even to him that Beastboy was head-over-heels for his traveling partner. The Titan had now become even goofier than usual. Lance continued feeling his way down the dark corridors, shaking his head in amusement at Beastboy's behavior.

As Lance opened a door and stepped into the room, he thought how fortunate it was that nothing as embarrassing as that would _ever_ happen to him. He stopped dead in his tracks after coming to a very disturbing conclusion. First, an odd odor had filled his nostrils. From what Lance could make of it, it smelled like…some sort of…_incense_. Second, he didn't remember his makeshift bedroom being filled with so many oddly shaped items. Even if Lance had enough light to see clearly he doubted that he could tell what they were. However, staring at the objects somehow made Lance feel like he was in a Halloween store.

This could only mean _one thing_: he had entered the wrong room on the account of the dark obscuring his senses and due to his inexperience with the tower corridors. A sinking feeling was in Lance's stomach. He may not have been a resident, but as an admirer of the Titans, Lance could still add two and two together.

"No one enters my room…"


	11. Trial by Fire

"Lance? _Lance! Hello?_" Terra's gloved hand started waving in front of her companion's face. Lance snapped out from a trance-like state with a start. "You're acting like a complete zombie!"

"S-sorry," Lance gave a small yawn, "Guess I didn't sleep well last night…"

"I'll say," agreed Terra. She noted his frazzled appearance. "What happened, did you see a ghost or something?"

Lance laughed nervously. If Terra's attempt to lighten the mood hadn't cut so close to the bone, it would have been funny.

"Boo-yah! New course record!"

The shout of triumph brought Lance back to his surroundings. He and Terra were currently situated outside at the base of the tower along with the current residents. As Cyborg's exclamation indicated, they were all present in front of a high tech obstacle course. The mechanized teen had just finished running a full lap.

As exciting as all of this was, Lance had not been paying much attention due to his fatigue. Even the bright sunny weather did little to invigorate him. He would simply keep drifting back and forth between the real world and dreamland as the sun's pleasantly warm rays continued to beat down on him…

"All right, who's up next?" cut in a monotone voice.

Lance involuntarily gave a small yelp and went completely rigid in his posture at the sound of the voice. Its owner had been the very thing that, after his mishap, had sent Lance running until he found his room, where he had spent an unknown portion of the night clutching his pillow like a life preserver while rocking back and forth in terror.

"Looks like we have a volunteer." Raven smirked from behind the control panel operating the course's various systems. Someone appeared to have learned his lesson. Lance almost seemed half in mind to say something but one look from the empath sent him scurrying to the starting line.

"He entered your room, didn't he?"

Raven looked over her shoulder to see Robin giving her a half amused look. She merely gave her leader a content glance before resetting the training program for the obstacle course.

Lance was nervously preparing himself at the starting line, deciding how he should tackle this. He could hardly remember anything from when Cyborg ran the course. If only his brain had gotten more rest. Let's see, there was no water on the course that ruled one form out. The small grey amphibian was obviously not suited for covering long distances, that ruled out another. Maybe if he flew or ran at an astonishing speed he could…

"You have until the count of three!" rang out Raven's voice. Lance's back stiffened, those had been some of her exact words from last night's mishap! _That _sent his fingers flying across his watch's dial. The count of three, that didn't give him much time, this called for speed! This called for the blue saurian form. That would work, he would really be able to show his worth! At a speed that would have made even Wally West proud, Lance pressed his hand down on the watch's face and was enveloped in a green light.

"And here I—" Lance was about to take off at what he thought was going to be a blinding speed. It was when he placed a foot forward that he saw that he was standing on a pair of molten feet. "Oh great!" Lance groaned to himself. His first chance to really impress the Titans and the watch was refusing to cooperate, transforming him into a tall humanoid that was composed of molten rock. "Gagh! Don't lose it Lance," he said under his breath while gritting his silicon teeth, "Just _work_ with it!"

With that he took a few long strides, ignited his volcanic fists, placed a pair of open palms towards the ground, and then began performing the impossible.

"Dude, he's flying!"

Beastboy's exclamation lifted Lance's spirits. Yes, he was flying, soaring! Well, technically he was using flames to propel himself off the ground, but what difference did that make? He was going to get through this! Lance's glowing face slackened a little upon narrowly avoiding a steel column that erupted from the ground. He mentally sighed to himself, of course things weren't going to be this easy, they rarely were. Shifting his body around and making a few changes here and there, Lance was able to continue his flight riding a stream of fire like a surfboard. He was then able to maneuver his way around additional projecting columns more easily than before.

"Wow!"

"Glorious!"

The cheers continued to bolster Lance's morale. Even the laser cannons that popped up from compartments hidden in various rocks and the guillotine like gates up ahead seemed like minor obstacles at the moment. Ha! He had faced much worse during his days as a man on the run. There had been times when he had been forced to dodge fire from an entire _platoon _of mechanical hunters. If the current exhilaration Lance was experiencing had been enough to completely eliminate his fatigue, he might have called bypassing the two obstacles plain exercise.

The finish line was becoming ever closer it was practically over. But wait, wasn't there still one last obstacle? His exhausted mind vaguely remembered something…

As if to help refresh his memory, projectile launchers revealed themselves from even more hidden compartments located in the rocks. Lance confidently reignited his fists, finishing this course was going to be a piece of cake—

A loud beeping noise began filling the air. "_WHAT?_" Lance looked down at the hourglass in disbelief as it continued to flash red. How could the watch be timing out on him _this quickly_? He was still in midair riding on a transport that was over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and _explosives _were about to be sent his way! Well, there was one possible way out of this, but it was not going to be easy. Lance had to suppress a gulp. "Please let me live…" he said to himself mortified. In a moment of terror, Lance allowed the flames that he had gathered to explode around him to form a fiery shield around himself while launching himself off from his flaming transport. The shield succeeded in protecting him from the explosives as they were fired against him. However, Lance was once again subject to the law of gravity as his shield dissipated in a great burst. He came down like a rock, creating a large dent in the ground and then hurtled forward head over heels. In mid-tumble he reverted back to his human form in a flash of red light. Without his rocky exterior, Lance quickly found himself getting beaten and battered against the hard ground. Then as soon as the pain began, it stopped. Lance tentatively opened an eye to see, that he had landed on his feet. He fully opened _both_ of his eyes to see, much to his surprise, that he had successfully tumbled across the finish line. Lance looked around to see six faces looking at him in astonishment.

Breathing heavily from his recent escapade, Lance began to take it all in. He had finished the course and was still in one piece. Lance then decided to break the silence. "Heh, that wasn't so bad—"

The moment he uttered the last syllable, Lance felt something practically explode against his head, fiery pain, and then nothing.

XXX

After what seemed to be a few seconds later, Lance woke up to an array of lights swirling before his eyes. It was all very nauseating and the fact that his head felt like it had been split in two did not make Lance feel any more comfortable.

"Hey, you're awake."

Lance's eyes finally adjusted to see Terra and Beastboy on the side of a bed that he had been laid on. "Gwah?" Everything seemed to be spinning in front of Lance's eyes as he tried getting a better view of everything around him.

"Don't try getting up!" Terra said urgently.

"Yeah, you took a pretty big hit out there!" Even the green jokester was wearing a solemn expression.

"I-I did?" Lance suddenly realized that his head had been tightly bound in bandages.

"See," Beastboy began, "What happened was…"

_"Wow!" _

_"Glorious!" _

_From the sidelines both Terra and the Titans had seen Lance changing his form of transportation to better maneuver himself around the course obstacles. _

_"Wish I could do that!" commented an excited Beastboy. _

_"You already can fly, genius," Raven reminded the shape shifter in her usual wry manner. She returned to her duty at the control panel. The newbie who was currently running the course was not going finish things this easily, there was still one obstacle left. After a punch of a few buttons, the projectile launchers revealed themselves from their hidden compartments along the course. In a few seconds, Lance would be faced with a barrage of explosive disks…_

_A loud blaring noise suddenly began filling the air. _

_"Shut the whole thing off, NOW!" Terra had heard that sound too many times to not know what it meant._

_"It's too late!" exclaimed Robin in alarm. Everyone turned to the course in dread as the launchers opened fire. Lance then enveloped himself in the fiery cocoon that protected him from the explosives, which resulted in an explosion of flames. _

_"WHOA!" _

_The force from the explosion had sent a good deal of the flames in the direction of the sidelines as well as pieces of equipment that had been sent flying. Raven cast a dome of dark energy around the group just as Lance reverted back into a human amidst his full speed tumble. The shield repelled the fire and sent the debris flying sky high. One particular broken piece of equipment went astray and came hurtling down onto the finish line just as Lance miraculously landed on his feet…_

"Huh…" Lance sank back into his bed only to wince in pain. As more of his senses came back into working order, he realized that even more bandages were covering his arms, legs, and torso. What was more, his usual attire was severely torn in several places and coated in dirt. His little stumble on the obstacle course had obviously left him a little worse for wear. Seeing as he was off his feet for the moment, Lance decided to look at the room around him. From the looks of things, he had been transported to some sort of medical bay. At Lance's bedside were monitors and pieces of hi-tech equipment that he couldn't even recognize. "So," Lance tried making conversation to pass the time, "Did I miss anything?"

The sound of an automatic door swishing open brought the attention of the room's occupants to the doorway. Lance's throat tightened in terror as an indigo-cloaked sorceress entered the room. "You're awake now," Raven said matter of factually, "Good." Terra and Beastboy moved aside as Raven moved to Lance's bedside. She placed a pale hand on the side of Lance's head as another began glowing icy blue. "Relax," Raven felt her patient tense, "I'm just here to see how well you're doing…It was pretty bad, you were lucky that I got to you when I did."

Lance couldn't believe his ears. _Raven _had saved _him_? Actually, this was a good sign. In sustaining a few injuries, Lance had managed to get off of Raven's bad side by appealing to her more virtuous sentiments. Maybe if he did stay, he could make things work with _all _of the tower residents. Yeah, that sounded nice. Lance began feeling quite peaceful at this thought…that or whatever spell Raven was using on him was acting like a sedative. Also, it _had _been a big day _and _there was the fact that he had hardly gotten any sleep the night before. Lance's eyelids were beginning to feel so heavy…

A sudden jolt caused Lance to fully waken. He opened his eyes to see that Raven had stopped her ministrations all together and seemed to be a foot away from where she had originally been. "What is it?" Lance asked cautiously. Raven almost seemed to be in a daze of some sort.

"N-nothing," she replied in an unusually uncertain voice, "I'm just finished here, that's all. You still need some rest, but you should be fine." With that, Raven quickly walked out of the room, a mystified expression covering her face. She did not slow down in her pace as she reached the hallways. These newcomers were beginning to become more of an issue, particularly Lance. The fact that he had even accidently entered had been enough to rile her up, but now even that seemed minor. When she had finished with both re-examining Lance's head injury and providing more treatment, something had happened. Just as she had been pulling away from the bedside, her hand had brushed Lance's watch. Raven had felt something upon touching it, something eerie, something unpleasant, something that might be dangerous…

XXX

"T-Terra you can't!" whimpered Beastboy.

"Watch me," Terra said with a smirk. Beastboy let out a shriek of horror as the geomancer destroyed him with one motion of her finger.

"That's the fifth time in a row you've beaten me," exclaimed Beastboy. He looked upon a large screen in astonishment at the digital wreckage of what had once been his vehicle. It was late in the morning and the two teens were passing the time by playing video games in the living room. Terra and Beastboy turned their attention away from the big screen upon hearing approaching footsteps.

"Hey, you're up!" cheered Terra.

Lance had just entered the room. "They said I could start getting out again," he said whilst stretching. It had been a little over a week, but a combination of science and magic had been able to get Lance on his feet again. Sure, he still had a few of his bandages on, but it was still better than being cooped up in the medical bay.

"You up for a round? We could use another player," Beastboy offered Lance a seat on the couch.

"Thanks, but I'm still not allowed to stare at anything," Lance placed a hand against the side of his head as he headed towards the kitchen, "I was just here to get some water." During his stay in the medical bay, a certain Tamaranean had decided to go through the trouble of providing him her planet's equivalent of chicken noodle soup. According to the rest of the team, the dish had been shown to actually help human patients on the road to recovery, and Starfire had offered the food so graciously…As a result, Lance had to force a number of helpings down his throat no matter how many things he saw growing or even swimming in the food's contents. Needless to say, the whole experience had left an awkward taste in Lance's mouth and an odd sensation in his stomach. Hopefully, it wasn't something that a little glass of water couldn't fix.

Lance plucked an empty glass from a cupboard as he eagerly twisted the handle to a sink faucet, only to have nothing come out. Frowning, Lance tried twisting the faucet handle again, only to then feel some amount of pressure building up in the faucet. Lance gave the handle one final twist to finally get a result, except it wasn't water. "Ew," said Lance in spite of himself as a red goopy substance poured out of the faucet. He quickly turned the faucet off and opted to try his luck elsewhere. Then, without warning, a tremendous fountain of the red substance erupted from the sink's drain. "AH!"

Beastboy and Terra both turned from the big screen at Lance's alarmed shout. "Lance?" began Beastboy, "Is everything—WHOA!" The putrid substance had now spread across much of the kitchen floor. Wait, now the substance was coming together, as if it had a mind of its own. Lance took a few steps backwards as the substance formed into large bulky creature with multiple green eyes.


	12. Initiation

"So," Robin had just finished operating on a computer in the tower's research facility, "What do you two make of it?" The leader turned to Cyborg and Starfire who were observing data on a computer screen of their own. The Titans had decided that if the two newcomers were going to become members of the team, they might as well begin brushing up on Lance and Terra. Getting to know them personally hadn't been too difficult so much as finding out more about their capabilities. Terra proved to be the easier one to observe in the end, the Titans had merely continued holding training sessions with her outside at the tower's base. Lance on the other hand, had been unable to provide any more demonstrations after his mishap, and as a result there was considerably less information about him. Sure, there had been a story or two about his exploits, but that still wasn't concrete information. However, there had still been the watch. Lance had generously allowed the Titans to run numerous scans and tests on the device in hopes that they could both learn more about it. It had been a very slow and steady process for the watch had proven to be a piece of technology that was more complex than _anything_ they had seen put together.

"Well," began Cyborg, "It wasn't made on _this_ planet."

"The device contains DNA samples that would have required technology for deep interstellar travel to obtain them," explained Starfire. She moved away from the computer screen to allow Robin a better look at the findings. "I have been able to identify from the device's databanks samples from a Tetramand, a Petrosapien, a Piscciss Volann, a Lepidopterran, a Vulpimancer, a Kineceleran, a Galvan, a Pyronite, and even a Galvanic Mechamorph." As Starfire listed the name of each species, the computer screen flashed an image of the corresponding alien, data that had been gained from scanning the watch.

Robin peered at the screen and began reading the data. "So it basically transforms Lance by combining his DNA with alien DNA—"

"Changing him into a completely different person."

Robin looked over his shoulder to see Raven with her arms folded, her face solemn. He mentally sighed to himself, Robin could see where this was going. Raven had actually been the main reason why the watch was being examined. She had spared no time in telling Robin about the premonition she had had upon touching the watch. As irrational as this lead sounded, experience had taught the Titans that Raven's powers were not to be taken lightly. Nevertheless, they still needed evidence indicating that there was anything hazardous. "It's still too early to say if there's anything to worry about," stated Robin.

"It's also too early to say that there _isn't _anything to worry about," retorted Raven as she approached the computer screen, "We've been looking at this thing for days and we don't know what half of that thing is or what it can do. For all we know the watch's method for transformation could have some side effects on its user…" At least when Beastboy transformed he was merely rearranging _his own_ DNA, Lance's method involved exposing his own biology to a number of other genetic make-ups. Surely, there was some lurking hazard behind all this.

Cyborg actually suppressed a chortle. "Rae, if that watch was making him lose it, I think we'd see something by now. Besides," Cyborg resumed his position at the computer and punched in a few keys as he began reexamining the data they had obtained so far, "I think I remember seeing a safety feature…_somewhere_." Even the team's technician was having some difficulty with the watch's schematics, which considering his expertise was saying something. After over a minute punching keys and scrolling, Cyborg found what he had been searching for. "Aha! See?" Cyborg pointed to a page that had popped up on the computer screen. It was a recording of what their equipment had picked up on the watch. "The watch has a mechanism that can keep any DNA it has _completely separated_ from its user's while it's not in use and—" Cyborg suddenly peered closer at the computer screen, "Hey, Star, how many DNA samples did we find again?"

"Nine, I believe," replied Starfire, somewhat apprehensive at Cyborg's tone of voice, "Why?"

Raven's eyes narrowed. Could this be the thing the premonition had warned her against?

"I think we missed something," Cyborg answered in an oddly tense manner. The 'something' that he had just had not been there before, had he and Starfire simply overlooked it? "From the looks of it, it's one more DNA sample—"

Loud crashing noises began carrying themselves from another part out of the tower. "Looks like it'll have to wait," Robin said sternly. With that the four Titans either flew or raced out the room door and into one of the hallways, only to nearly collide with a green cheetah. "Beastboy, what's going on?" barked Robin as the changeling resumed his human form.

"Plasmus!" answered a distressed Beastboy, "He broke in! I think he followed me, so y'all better—" He stopped when he looked over his shoulder to see nothing, "Oh no…"

"Beastboy, what is it?" asked Robin tersely.

"T-Terra and Lance! We split up!" Beastboy's face was becoming increasingly pale, "Plasmus was clobbering us! I went to get you guys, I-I thought he'd be following _me!_"

Robin lurched forward. "Where are they now?"

XXX

"Omph!" A blue alien dinosaur carrying a blonde geomancer had just made it out the front door to the tower, when a blast of slime sent at the creature's feet sent it slipping and tumbling.

Terra fell out of Lance's grip and landed a good few feet away from him in the process, face down in a pile of dirt. Terra couldn't have been happier to feel the substance on her face. Earth, sweet, sweet earth! This hadn't been present in the tower. _Now _she could _really _fight! Terra scrambled to her feet and turned to face the now charging Plasmus.

"Hey, blob! I've got something for ya!" With a massive swing of her arms, Terra removed a large chunk of rock from the ground and flung it at Plasmus. The projectile hit its mark and succeeded in tearing off a large chunk of Plasmus' head.

"Whoa," Lance had painstakingly pushed himself back up and was taking in what he had just seen, "_Nice shot_!"

"Th-thanks," said Terra while breathing heavily from the sudden exertion, "I've been practicing." The two turned their heads upon hearing additional shrieking. Plasmus was actually clutching his head in pain. "He's actually wearing down!" Terra exclaimed in a delighted astonishment.

"Ugh!"

Terra turned her head in alarm to see that Lance had just barely kept himself from losing his balance. "That makes _two _of us," he said through gritted teeth. Even though Lance had recovered much since he had received his head trauma, he had still not made a full recovery. Today, Lance was supposed to be taking it easy. However, no one had been expecting a mutated home intruder, whose strength and gelatinous anatomy made him a difficult opponent. "I-I don't think I can k-keep this up much longer," said Lance through gritted teeth as his world. Terra nodded in acknowledgement, this fight would have to end quickly.

"An even bigger hit should do it," concluded Terra as she observed Plasmus gaining his second wind, "But I'll need him to stay still…" She then gave Lance a look that said 'are you up to it?'

"I'll keep him busy," assured Lance before taking off as a blue blur. If he could make it this far, he could endure a few more moments of this…hopefully. Upon seeing Lance, Plasmus began firing volleys of slime from his body and spraying acid from his mouth. It was taking everything in Lance's power to maintain his balance as he avoided the onslaught. He was feeling nauseated again, the world was starting to spin; he was pushing himself too hard too soon. But he had to keep going, he had to keep Plasmus distracted, Plasmus had to be made a sitting duck. Lance circled around Plasmus before rushing back and forth at the mutant several times, using his claws to inflict deep gashes on Plasmus' legs. Plasmus screeched in pain and turned his back towards Terra in his effort to better face his current attacker who had now stopped.

Lance could see that Terra was almost ready in launching the extra large piece of earth she was extracting. Plasmus would only need one more distraction. Summoning every last ounce of strength he had, Lance charged at Plasmus and swerved around him. Lance increased in speed as he continued swerving around Plasmus until the beast was engulfed in a blue tornado. The effort sent Lance sprawling while Plasmus was left misshapen, disoriented, and sent full force into the direction of an equally fast chunk of earth…

SPLAT!

Red globs were sent raining everywhere, covering everything in the vicinity. Lance wearily pushed himself up and began taking the scene in. He wiped some slime off of his helmeted head. Was it over? He tensed upon seeing movement among one of the larger pieces of goop, only to see the slime melt away to reveal a sleeping half naked man.

"YOU _WON_!"

Lance and Terra both turned to see that the Titans had just arrived onto the scene. Beastboy was jumping up and down in excitement while the rest of the team looked on amazed. Just then, Lance resumed his human form in a blare of red light. "That's good news," he wearily answered before allowing himself to flop on his back and onto a bed of slime.

XXX

"I still can't believe it…"

Even after the many hours it had been since today's event, Beastboy was still ecstatic from its aftermath. It was sunset and the green changeling was currently seated on a rock located at the shoreline near the tower's base. His seat was also, rather conveniently, located next to the spot where Terra was currently seated. Just looking at her made the giddy feeling that was swelling in his chest come bursting out. "YOU'RE ON THE TEAM!"

"I know," laughed Terra. Even though it had been the fifty-sixth time Beastboy had mentioned this since her induction, it was still nice to be reminded. In subduing Plasmus, the home invader, Terra and Lance had proven themselves Titan material and were offered positions on the team. Naturally, both of them had accepted.

Beastboy and Terra both turned at the sound of footsteps to see Lance walking towards them. "Hey guys," greeted the watch bearer.

"Hi, Lance," Terra returned the greeting, "Feeling any better?"

"_Much_," Lance happily rubbed his now bandage-free head.

After exerting himself too soon, Lance had sent himself back to the medical bay. At first it seemed that Lance had gone a few steps backwards on the road to recovery. But then, a closer examination revealed that Lance's head injury had somehow further healed. The only explanation anyone had been able to come up with was that transforming into an alien and then reverting back had encouraged cell growth, accelerating the healing process. It was then a simple process of having Raven fully repair the remaining damage and then getting enough bed rest. Now, Lance was up and running again.

"Where'd you get the new suit?" Beastboy was referring to the fact that Lance had completely changed from his usual attire. Instead of his usual blue short-sleeved jacket and tan pants, Lance was now wearing a light gray jumpsuit equipped with a simple utility belt and a pair of black boots.

"This?" Lance plucked at the jumpsuit's top in emphasis, "Well, Plasmus ruined my last set of good clothes. Robin said you all had a couple of spare suits and this one fit me." Lance then took a seat next to Beastboy and Terra. This was it, the start of a new life. No more having to wander around like a vagabond. No more having to run away like a scared wild animal. Now, he would have a use, a purpose…

_However _there was one more thing that Lance had been considering. "I'm thinking about getting a codename."

"Hm?" Both Beastboy and Terra turned their heads in Lance's direction with interest.

"It's just that everyone else has a name, I mean, I don't think Cyborg was always a cyborg…And I already changed outfits, so I thought—"

"Have you thought of anything yet?" asked Terra.

"I was thinking about something involving this," Lance held out his left arm, exposing the watch, "Maybe, it could be Watchman! No, too obvious. Or how about the _Green Hourglass! _No, there's another name like that. The Timer! I mean no…" Lance's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at his failed endeavors, "Clock, Symbol Guy…ICON?" Lance stopped at his last outburst, "Hey, that could work…"

He pointed to the hourglass emblem on the watch. "See the watch has a symbol, and icon is just another word for it. And it's _kind of_ catchy, or at least I think it is. What do you two think of it?"

Terra shrugged. "I like it."

Beastboy scratched his chin quizzically. "I guess it's okay, but I something still bugs me."

Lance sat up straighter. "What?"

A smirk spread across the prankster's face as he pointed to the watch on the newly renamed teammate's wrist. "Can you shower with that thing on?"

XXX

"Enjoy them while you can, Titans."

Concealed in the shadows in a dark area unknown, was an enigmatic man who was viewing his quarry on a wide computer screen. Unbeknownst to the three laughing youths on the screen, a secret satellite from above was currently tracking their every move.

"Today, your new additions passed another test. But of course, there will be more to come. Soon, you will all fall before me…"


	13. History Repeats Itself

"Come on, Rae," chuckled Cyborg as he fought against Beastboy in yet another video game battle in the living room. "He's not _that_ bad."

"I only said that _those two_ still have a long way to go. They only became members yesterday," Raven folded her arms and narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Also, I never said anything about Lance—"

"Icon!" corrected Beastboy.

"_Icon_," Raven gave an exasperated sigh. A thought suddenly crossed her mind. "That tenth DNA sample in the watch," she began slowly. "Did you ever get a look at it." Raven gave Cyborg a hard look.

"Yeah, I did."

"_And?"_

"It was perfectly contained, nothing to worry about," Cyborg responded casually, eyes still glued to the screen.

"You couldn't even detect it before, aren't you even a _little worried?_"

"Worried about what?"

The three Titans turned to see that Icon, the subject of interest, had just entered the room while passing by.

"We're patrolling the city tonight," said Raven without missing a beat, "And it's going to be the first time you and Terra are going to be actually working on a team."

Icon shrugged. "How bad could it be?"

**Eight Hours Later…**

"Little help here!" Icon was clinging for dear life to the top of a billboard. Raven came floating down from the sky to Icon's level, rolling her eyes from beneath her hood. Why did Robin have to pair her up with Icon? Probably for the sake of some team bonding exercise, some attempt to get her more used to the new recruits.

Raven held out a hand and dark energy surrounded Icon's body. She then lowered Icon from the top of the billboard to the top of a building and landed next to him. "You know the drill," sighed Raven as she conjured a dark platform beneath her feet. Icon flushed in embarrassment and took a seat upon the platform. Raven waved her hand again and the platform took off into the air.

So far, this _entire_ patrol had been nothing but _this_ with Icon. First, Icon would transform into an alien so that he could keep up with Raven and at the same time be battle ready if the time came. Then, Icon's watch would time out after a certain amount of time elapsed (a factor that remained quite variable). Raven would then have to retrieve Icon and arrange for him some form of transport until the watch recharged. Needless to say, the process had become quite old _very quickly_, and it was getting on Raven's nerves.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want to take Cyborg's car?" Raven asked wryly. A mechanical beep answered her question.

"I-I'm okay," Icon fiddled with the watch's dial and was transformed into a giant winged insect in a flash of green light. He leapt off and started buzzing through the air along side Raven. Despite the cool soothing night air that was brushing his exoskeleton, Icon was feeling tense from Raven's ever improving mood. Perhaps a conversation could ease the conflict. "So, uh," began Icon, "How often do you find trouble this way?"

"Not too often," curtly replied Raven. "At least, that's how it's been lately. Not since we took care of some old business."

Icon raised all four of his eyestalks in interest. "_Old business? _Like an arch-enemy or—" Icon was cut off when two mechanical beeps filled the air. He extended a clawed hand to a belt that had been especially made to accommodate most of his alien forms. With a flick of his wrist, he flipped open his very own communicator. "Icon," answered the bug as Robin's face appeared on the screen.

"We just received a report of a break in at a museum," Robin's face minimized on the communicator screen as information began loading into the communicator. "I'm sending the coordinates to you now. We'll meet you and Raven there."

Raven, who had just pulled out her own communicator, gave an odd look at the presented information.

"What is it?" Icon's four eyestalks made missing little details difficult.

"It's just a place we haven't been to since Blorthog Day…" Raven pocketed her communicator and sped ahead, leaving a very befuddled bug.

"_Blorthog _day?"

XXX

Many city blocks away, a blue and white hi-tech car had parked itself in front of a museum's entrance. Cyborg, Terra, and Beastboy exited the vehicle's doors in a rush.

"You ready for this?" Beastboy asked Terra excitedly as they approached the building's doors.

"More than I'll ever be," admitted Terra. In a few seconds, Robin who had just come in on his R-cycle and Starfire who had swooped in from the night sky joined the three. The group flung the entrance doors open to come across a mess. Large chunks from the polished floors had been blasted off, exhibits had been knocked over, and relics had been smashed. Someone had clearly met and driven out the local security.

"It's been a while, Titans," sounded out a snide voice, "I should know, it's been _years_ for me!"

Everyone turned their heads to see, standing by a pedestal displaying a small decorative clock, a goateed man adorned in gold and black armor. "It is you!" Starfire's hands palms were quickly encased in glowing emerald orbs. Standing before them was none other than Warp, the time traveling thief.

"Who is he?" asked Terra, taken aback by Starfire's aggression.

"He is the klorbag," seethed Starfire, "Who nearly brought the Rekmas upon us!"

"But I thought he wound up in diapers," mused Beastboy, "How'd he get back here?"

"So who is he again?" Terra asked again in confusion.

"Ah, yes," the man stepped forward while scratching his chin, "You received a new recruit or two around this time." He gave Terra a smirk. "I suppose _could_ bring her up to speed and even tell you all of how I made it through my ordeal, but," Warp plucked the decorative clock from the pedestal, "Even time-travelers have to get back to business."

Robin incredulously raised his eyebrows. "You came all the way back just to try and get the clock again?"

"Oh, this? This is merely the souvenir now. I'm here for far more valuable treasures," Warp produced a dark smile as small cannons appeared from compartments in the pieces of armor on his shoulders, "One of them being _revenge!_"

"Titans, go!" barked Robin. All five of the assembled members scattered in different directions, dodging two streams of destructive energy.

Terra dove behind a fallen exhibit, her heart and mind racing. Whoever this Warp guy was, he was already making quite an impression. He had already made it quite clear that he was well armed and not hesitant to make use of his arsenal. Terra looked over the exhibit just in time to see Warp generate a pulse of energy from his hand to effortlessly repel an oncoming Cyborg and Beastboy. Warp quickly followed up his attack by surrounding himself with a force field that Robin and Starfire were unfortunate enough to collide with and get shocked by.

Terra tensed. How could she compete against that? But she still had to try and do something!

What was it she had learned during that one week of training in the desert? That one technique that had been the secret to overcoming even the most difficult of obstacles…_Adapt_. Make use of what's available. Terra swiveled her head around until a solution stood her right in the face, or more specifically she was standing right on it!

Warp deactivated his force field. "You know what Titans, you may be relics, but I have to admit it," a smirk spread across Warp's face. "You're _classics!" _ The time traveler started to laugh, but was quickly cut short when he felt something shatter against the back of his head. Warp's pulse accelerated, if his armor had not been in place whatever it was would have at the very least have caused him serious injury. He turned around just in time to feel several more projectiles slam into his armored abdomen. Warp looked at his feet to see the shattered remains of marble floor tiles had somehow flown at him. Warp turned found himself looking back into a pair of glowing yellow eyes from across the room.

"You like classics?" Terra scowled. "Then how about some reruns?" With a massive slam of her fists, Terra dislodged enough of the floor tiles to produce a miniature tsunami. The wave of marble tiles smashed into Warp full force, scoring a direct hit and creating a large cloud of dust in the process. Terra let out a sigh of relief. The battle was over. An odd clicking sound instantly replaced any ease within her mind with dread. An unrecognizable projectile shot out from the cloud of dust and slammed into Terra with such force that she was forced into a wall. She tried moving, but quickly realized that whatever had been shot at her now had her pinned to the wall with bands of blue energy.

"For a newcomer," Warp casually strode out of the dissipating dust cloud, surprisingly unscathed, "You fight surprisingly well."

Terra tried using her power to break free, but something about the binds seemed to be restricting even that.

"Don't bother struggling," Warp said coolly, "Those energy restraints are designed to hold someone even of your capacity." Terra's eyes widened in terror as what was clearly an advanced firearm reveal itself from a compartment on his gauntlet. Warp's face twisted into a cruel smile as he pointed the weapon directly at Terra's head. "It's a shame that you will never see what you will be truly capable of—"

The time traveler suddenly lurched forward as he felt something strike the side of his head. Warp placed a hand on the side of his face to feel a viscous substance that was dripping down his neck. He quickly put his hand in front of him to see whatever the substance was green in color. Despite the mess on his armor, a smile began spreading across Warp's face.

"THE CAVALRY IS HERE!"

Warp turned around just in time to see a black and green armored body smack into him with such force that he was knocked off of his feet and sent skidding across the floor. The time traveler pushed himself back up to see a gigantic alien insect hovering in midair. Warp's eyes widened with glee. "At last it arrives," Warp's gaze was fixed on the hourglass symbol that was on the insect's forehead. "The _Omnitrix_…"

XXX

"The _what?_" Icon was floored. This had been the second time that a complete stranger had recognized the watch as something. However, this was this first time anyone had given it a name.

"The Omnitrix," repeated Warp, who now appeared to be savoring every bit of the view he had of the prize. "It is one of the most powerful devices to have ever existed. Well, technically yours is only the _prototype—_" Warp was cut off when he was forced to reactivate his force-field to shield himself from a grandfather-clock encased in dark energy that came hurtling towards him.

"Don't just sit there, MOVE!" Icon turned to see Raven quickly levitating more objects from around the room. Eager to please and make a good impression, Icon zoomed forward the moment Warp deactivated his force field. The time traveler was moving back on the offensive.

The cannons on Warp's shoulder pads revealed themselves again and quickly opened fire. Icon twisted his tail and swiftly flew to the side as he attempted to stay one step ahead of the heavy barrage of cannon fire. Icon retaliated by firing his own projectiles of green slime, but Warp's cannon fire kept him at an unfavorable angle for getting a clear shot. Warp only ceased firing at Icon when Raven began pelting him with various items, forcing the time-traveler to redirect his attention.

Icon decided to make use of this temporary ceasefire by buzzing towards the restrained Terra. "Whoa, he got you pretty good there…" Icon noted the energy restraints that were binding Terra. He turned a stalk-eye to where the restraints were holding Terra to the wall, seeing a number of small mechanical devices. "I think I can get this loose and—GAAGH!"

The moment Icon's clawed hand made contact with the devices a powerful shock was sent coursing through his body. Pain was stabbing at every cell in his body; he could actually see the inside of his arm as some sort of current continued to shoot through him. It was agony, it was sickening. It was strong enough to send him flying backwards at full force. Icon felt his durable exoskeleton smash into a marble surface. His senses were in complete disarray as he felt himself revert back into a human.

"What? NO!"

Icon heard a series of loud noises and then felt himself roughly seized by the wrist and pulled to his feet. His vision came back into focus enough to see Warp inspecting the watch while wearing a _very angry_ face. "I did not spend all those years growing up again just to have this ruined!" Warp quickly began inspecting the damage. The Omnitirx did not appear to be broken but the device was emitting blue sparks. Warp came to a quick decision.

The time-traveler pressed a hand to a device on his chest, which emitted a blinding beam of light that formed an equally blinding portal. "You're coming with _me_!"

"Wha—N-no!" Icon weakly attempted to break free of Warp's grip, but he soon found himself being dragged through the corridor of light.


	14. History Lesson

"Stop struggling this instant!" snarled Warp. Icon was regaining his senses despite the array of lights that were present in the tunnel that had been made in the fabrics of space and time.

"L-let go of me!" retorted Icon.

"If I lose my grip on you before we reach my destination—NO DON'T!" Warp shouted when the Omnitrix made contact with the device on his chest. A burst of energy pulsed between the two devices, sending both Warp and Icon off of the tunnel's path.

The array of lights vanished and Icon felt himself hit solid ground. Icon scrambled to his feet as he quickly tried to gain his bearings. He looked around to see that they had somehow ended up in an open desert. Well, no time like the present to try and get away from that crazy armored collector. Icon looked at the watch on his left wrist, he cringed. The Omnitrix or whatever it was, currently had a red dial and was still emitting a few blue sparks. Icon then found himself roughly seized by the arm.

"Unless you wish to suffer the most dire of consequences," Warp's expression was dangerous, "I advise that you—"

"Hemhem…"

Icon stopped struggling as Warp's face slackened. They were not alone.

"Actually, Warp, you could do with a little piece of advice yourself: Time travel is for immortals and fools," said a voice with a well-educated accent. Warp and Icon both turned their heads to see a complete stranger. The man appeared to be middle-aged; he had graying black hair, and was adorned in a white lab coat.

Warp's face darkened as he pulled Icon closer to him and drew out one of his wrist launchers. Whoever this stranger was, he could easily be another thief, and Warp was not willing to give the Omnitrix up without a fight. "Who do you think you are and—What do you mean by _for_ _immortals and_ _fools?"_

The corner of the stranger's mouth twitched. "I am a time traveler much like yourself, except _I'm_ the only immortal around here…"

Warp responded by firing his weapon, seemingly vaporizing the stranger on the spot. "Now," Warp smirked. "You're the only one who's a pile of ashes."

"On the contrary," sounded out the stranger's voice. Warp and Icon turned in amazement to see the stranger standing right behind them, completely unharmed. "I am still the only immortal around here," said the man as he reached into his coat pocket to pull out a golden pocket watch.

Warp aimed to take another shot at the stranger. "We will see about tha—" Warp completely stopped. Icon couldn't believe his eyes. Warp was frozen. He looked like he was part of a movie that had simply been put on pause or a mannequin in a store window.

"Now would be a good time to remove yourself," said the stranger, pointing to Icon's arm which was being grasped by Warp's now near lifeless fingers. Icon pried himself loose, warily observing the newcomer.

"Uh, thank you…" Icon still wasn't too sure what to make of this man. His earlier days of being on the run had made him normally cautious in the face of the unknown. When you made the decision between fight and flight on a day-to-day basis, you could only assume the worse.

"You're very welcome Lance, or better now known as the Icon…"

Icon froze in shock. "H-how do you know my—"

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Paradox, time traveler, though not the kind associated with our dear friend here," Professor Paradox motioned to Warp's frozen figure.

"What'd you do to him?" asked a very perplexed Icon.

"It's not so much as what I've done to him as what I've done with the two of us. We are now moving outside the normal flow of time," Paradox extended a hand. "I can take you back to the Titans."

Icon was hesitant at first. He had only met this man a few seconds ago. But a few looks at his surroundings reminded him that he did not have much of a choice. If he didn't go with Paradox, whom else could he rely on? Besides, hadn't this Professor Paradox just _saved _him from Warp?

Resigned, Icon walked towards Professor Paradox as the man pressed a button on his golden pocket watch. Icon then found himself floating along yet another tunnel of light, this time with the professor.

Icon glanced down at the device he now knew as the Omnitrix. It was still on the red dial, hopefully there wasn't any lasting damage.

"I suppose this ordeal has left you wondering about the Omnitrix," noted Professor Paradox.

"Yeah, you could say tha—WAIT! What do you know about it?" Icon was desperate for answers after hearing two different people refer to the device by name in the same day.

"It will take a small detour to explain what you need to know, for now anyways…" The moment Professor Paradox uttered the last syllable, the tunnel of light became pitch black save for a number of isolated specks.

As Icon looked around he became aware of what appeared to be a bright yellow circle in the distance. It wasn't until he spotted small a number of colored spheres that were surrounding the yellow circle that he recognized where they were. "We're in _outer space!_" exclaimed Icon in spite of himself. He clasped his throat. "How am I breathing?"

"It would take too long to explain," shrugged Paradox. "Now, observe." The professor pointed to two objects in the distance. Icon found himself surprised for the umpteenth time that day. Paradox was pointing to two vehicles, _spaceships! _

One vessel was compact and was equipped with black and green armor. Pursuing that vessel was a much larger brown armored ship. "Not too long ago, or at least not too long ago for you, an intergalactic warlord was seeking to obtain a most precious cargo," Paradox motioned to the larger ship. "Shall we take a closer look?"

"Can't see why not," shrugged Icon. The scenery changed again, and Icon found himself standing in what appeared to be a control room. Operating the various control panels were a number of orange, black, and red insect-like robots. Icon froze at the sight of them. He recognized them, their design. It was all too familiar. It was the same design as his alien mechanical pursuers. These robots were associated with his hunters!

"No need to worry, they can't do anything to you," assured Paradox.

"Like in a _Christmas Carol_?" asked Icon tentatively.

"Precisely," responded Paradox.

"Prepare to board!" boomed a sinister voice. Icon turned to see seated in a chair, a monstrous figure. It had a humanoid body plan, but at the same time it was nothing like a human. Its skin was green, it had two blood red eyes, its body was extraordinarily lean and well built, tentacles were trailing from its stout head like a beard, and each of its limbs ended in a clawed hand or foot. "I want the Omnitrix _NOW!" _

Icon turned to the direction of the direction of the creature's attention to see that the smaller spaceship was coming within reach. Suddenly, a green flash of light fired from the smaller spaceship.

"WHOA!" Icon reflexively shielded himself.

The control room around Icon burst into flames as the green light made contact with the warlord's ship. Oddly enough, he did not feel a single thing. Icon uncovered his arms and opened his eyes to see that he was floating in space again. He looked to see a large piece of black and green metal. Icon's eyes widened. The smaller ship had taken some damage as well…

Two pods ejected themselves from what was left of the wreckage. At first, the capsules appeared to be traveling side by side, but then their paths diverged. The two pods then broke apart, each revealing a much smaller spherical capsule. Icon's eyes widened as he recognized the capsules and the blue and green planet that they were plummeting to below.

"I believe you know what becomes of one of those two capsules," said Paradox.

"Two!" Icon was reminded about something: the other bearer. "Professor Paradox, do you know about anyone named _Tennyson?"_

"A _Ben_ Tennyson?" questioned Paradox, quirking an eyebrow.

Icon's pulse quickened. "Who is he? Wh-where is he? Is he still—"

The scene changed again and this time Icon and Paradox were standing in a deciduous forest. In front of them was an old RV with various items in front of it that suggested that someone was here for recreational camping

Icon froze at the sight that lay before him. Running before him was a ten year-old boy. He had messy chestnut-brown hair and green eyes. He was clad in a black and white shirt as well as baggy olive green pants. The thing that caught Icon's eye the most was what was on the boy's wrist; it was a large watch with a green hourglass symbol. "So that's Ben…" Icon managed to find his voice.

He turned to see that Ben was pursuing a girl who appeared to be about Ben's age. She had short red hair and was wearing a blue shirt and white pants. The girl also had a set of green eyes that were the same shade as Ben's. Was this girl a relative of Ben? She was wearing a very satisfied expression as an aggravated Ben pursued her. From this, Icon could only assume that the two probably _were _related somehow.

Icon actually took a step forward to follow them before he looked to Paradox. "Can we—" he began.

"No, we cannot interact with them," Paradox wore an understanding look.

"Oh," Icon was actually a little downtrodden. He then watched as both Ben and the girl stopped their chase only to head to a wooden picnic table that had been placed for visitors. At the picnic table setting up a dinner, was a gray-haired man who was dressed in a red Hawaiian shirt. "Looks like he got luckier than I did…" noted Icon with a small smile on his face.

"He _is _fortunate," agreed Paradox. A ten-year old would probably not have been able to survive what Icon had been through. "Ben Tennyson, an elementary school student of Bellwood who is now traveling on a cross-country excursion with his cousin Gwen Tennyson and his grandfather Max Tennyson. "

Icon observed, much to his surprise and amusement, that Max Tennyson was serving his two disgusted grandchildren what appeared to platefuls of mealworms.

"And on another note," continued Paradox. "While you came into contact with the working prototype for the Omnitrix, young Ben here came across the final model."

Icon peered at Ben's Omnitrix before looking at his own. There _were_ differences between the two devices. Ben's Omnitrix appeared to be newer and more finished while Icon's own Omnitrix was older-looking and more basic. Strange, Icon's Omnitrix had seemed so advanced before looking at Ben's. Perspective was such a funny thing.

"So," began Icon. "Can Ben do things that I can't?"

"Possibly," answered Paradox. "As the final model Ben's Omnitrix does possess more capabilities."

"Has he ever had to use it?" Icon asked tensely.

"On a number of occasions. Like you, he and his family were attacked shortly after discovering the Omnitrix by the same kind of hunting droids that would frequently pursue you. However, the droids were far less numerous and young Ben was able to fend them off. Afterwards, he encountered a number of super-powered foes. I believe you had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Animo…"

"Heh, don't remind—" Icon paused upon remembering something that had occurred that day when he met Dr. Animo. "Professor Paradox, when me and my friend Terra met Dr. Animo, we found out that someone had been spying on us. Do you know who—"

"I'm afraid that is something you will find out for yourself soon enough," Dr. Paradox looked unusually grave. "But cheer up," Paradox changed the mood upon seeing Icon's disturbed face. "You've already come this far. In a matter of weeks, Lance Rios, a promising high school student, not only came into possession of the working prototype for the Omnitrix, but was able to utilize it against onslaught after onslaught of mechanical hunting parties; single-handedly defeat the three top-graduates of the H.I.V.E academy, hold his own against a menagerie of mutated animals, and successfully face Plasmus despite a head trauma. And even after all that you still managed to find the time to develop a partialness for the Kineceleran."

"That's the blue dinosaur, right?" Icon remembered Starfire and himself conversing about his alien forms after he and Terra had become members.

"Correct," Paradox rummaged around in his coat pocket until he pulled out a small handful of colorful spheres. "Gumball?"

XXX

"Oh great!" moaned Beastboy. "Not again!" The changeling and the Titans had recovered from Warp's attack just as Warp had succeeded in pulling Icon through the time portal. This had been the second time that a team member had vanished this way.

Cyborg was just finishing in using his expertise to free Terra from the energy restraints binding her to the wall.

"Where'd they go?" Terra frantically rushed to the spot where Warp had vanished with Icon.

"Back to Warp's future," Raven had dizzily picked herself up. After Icon had been shocked in his attempt to free Terra, Warp had cut the fight between him and Raven short by unleashing a series of attacks that had left the empath quite dazed.

"Perhaps we have no reason to worry," reassured Starfire in a yet uncertain voice. "When I vanished, I reappeared after only a few moments, correct—"

A blinding flash of light filled the room and Raven felt something knock her down onto the floor. She glowered when the light faded. "Whose hand is that?" Raven's voice became dangerous.

"S-So sorry!" Icon scrambled to his feet and nearly jumped a yard backwards, flushing furiously. The other Titans watched in bewilderment as Icon began acting purely on his survival instincts to appease his angered teammate. Icon dug furiously into his pants pocket and pulled out a souvenir he had received. "Gumball?" he sheepishly offered.

XXX

"So Ben's still out there," Terra was amazed by Icon's story about his trip with Professor Paradox.

"Yeah," chimed Beastboy. "There's actually two of you…"

"I know," Icon pulled his knees to under his chin. The three were currently seated near the shoreline at the base of the tower. It was morning and the sun was still rising. None of them had actually planned on meeting there. Terra had simply come out to enjoy the open air, Beastboy had gone looking for her, and Icon just had to tell them about his personal experience.

"What are you going to do?" questioned Terra.

"I don't know," admitted Icon. "Maybe nothing for now. Ben looked like he was doing fine. I'd be a lousy team member if I just walked up and left to go try looking for someone. I have no clue where he is right now…"

"Maybe he'll come to you," mulled Beastboy.

"Guess we'll see," Icon plucked a gumball from his pocket, popped it in his mouth, and began chewing. Time would tell.

XXX

"And so there are two…" An enigmatic mastermind had resumed watching one of his new people of interest on his computer screen. "Icon, you just get more interesting by the minute."


	15. Lights Out

"You shall not be victorious today Titans," declared an overweight man dressed in a trench coat. "Today, victory shall go to Control Freak!" He swung a remote control as if it were a sword. Control Freak was making his stand at an electronics store using the power of his remote control to mobilize his own private army of electronic devices. The couch potato looked around the battlefield triumphantly.

From what he could currently make out Robin and Cyborg were being held off by a number of widescreen televisions, Raven and Starfire were trying not to get pelted by the DVD discs that were being fired at them by various DVD players, and Beastboy and Terra were attempting to break through the vast legions of cell phones. All was going well so far.

Feeling confident that his success was inevitable, Control Freak confidently gave his remote control another swing. "Resistance is futile," he declared overdramatically. "For he who controls the remote—" Control Freak was cut short when he felt a strong wind blow by him. He looked at his hand in shock for the remote had seemingly vanished before his eyes into thin air.

"Controls nothing now!" exclaimed a dry voice. Control Freak turned his head just in time to see a blue alien dinosaur hold the remote control triumphantly above his head and smash it into the ground.

"NOOOOOO!" Control Freak clutched both sides of his head and fell to his knees as his army of electronics ceased to function.

XXX

"We rock!" declared Beastboy as everyone entered the tower's common room.

"Titans: 5, Bad guys: 0!" Cyborg fully agreed with Beastboy.

Icon stretched his arms over his head. Yes, it had been a productive day. As Cyborg had stated, the team had been successful against criminals on five different occasions. First, there had been a wacky magician named Mumbo Jumbo who had been robbing a bank. Then, a giant golem called Cinderblock had been caught wrecking a construction site. Later, the team dealt with the freakish Puppet King who had been looting a toy store for bizarre reasons. Afterwards, the team was forced to deal with a destructive computer chip known as Overload. Of course, there had also been Control Freak.

Icon made his way to his room. As he opened the door, he was barely able to recognize it as the former storage room it had once been. There was now an actual bed as well as other pieces of furniture. Sure it was still being set up, but it was still his room nonetheless. Icon flopped down onto the bed. A productive day was also a tiring one. His muscles were sore from today's strenuous exercise.

He gazed at the wall on the other side of his room to see a board that was normally used for posting messages. Pinned to the board were various sketches and drawings. _His _sketches and drawings. In resuming a more sedentary lifestyle, Icon had enough spare time to allow him to once again have a hobby or two. So far, Icon had been mainly drawing the alien forms of the Omnitrix. Not that anyone could blame him, the Omnitrix was an interesting device.

Icon shifted his hands to behind his head. Despite everything, there was one thing that kept reoccurring in his thoughts, the mystery spy, that unknown assailant who had been tracking Icon and Terra in the desert, the master of those androids. Professor Paradox had been so dark when the subject had been brought up. Was this unknown person really that dangerous?

Icon sighed to himself, he had only just learned that the identity of his first tormentor was an intergalactic warlord and now he had a new threat to worry about. Well, no use fretting about it now. Besides, Paradox said that Icon would be able to learn more about this enemy in due time. Icon pushed himself up from the bed and walked to his room's writing desk. From there he picked up a notebook and a pencil. Icon then exited his room to where the common room was.

"All right! Back in the game!" boomed Cyborg's voice.

"No-you're-NOT!" retorted Beastboy. The two members were currently engaged in yet another computerized battle. Icon set himself down on one of the couches as he flipped open his notebook.

"I've got! I've got it! I've got it!" cheered Beastboy as he began turning the tide against Cyborg. Icon cracked a little smile before starting on his next drawing. There was just something about doing a sketch or two while someone was around like this. Just doing whatever made you feel relaxed while being with others who were doing the same. It just made Icon feel…_happy._

With a light stroke of his pencil Icon made half an oval on his present sheet of paper. He then continued from one side of the incomplete oval until he met the other side so that he had a body that vaguely resembled a tadpole. Icon proceeded to draw a spindly arm and hand on each side of the body. Now, all he had to do was add a single eye at the center of the oval half and all that would be left would be to add some details…

"What's that?"

Icon turned his head to see Raven sitting only a foot away from him. How had he not noticed her?

"This? Just another alien," shrugged Icon. After living under the same roof with the Titans Icon had become accustomed to all of the residents, even Raven. Experience had now taught him that her bark was worse than her bite, usually…

"Really? I've never seen that one before," Raven peered closer, her eyebrows furrowed. _Why hadn't _she seen it before? Come to think about it, she hadn't even seen it when the Omnitrix's alien forms were first being examined. Her eyes widened as a thought hit her like a million bricks. This was the previously unknown tenth form.

"Guess I haven't been using it lately," shrugged Icon. He resumed adding details to his drawing.

"_Because?"_ questioned Raven. Much to her annoyance, Icon merely shrugged. A certain teammate had just unwittingly returned to square one on the long path that led to gaining Raven's approval. Not that anything she held against him at the moment was too personal; Icon had been proving himself as both a capable member and a tolerable housemate. It was just that vibe she had received from the Omnitrix. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't shake this feeling of unease. There had only been one other thing that could make her feel this way…

Raven would have further pressed the matter if the alarm had not gone off.

XXX

Icon zoomed as a blue blur through the streets, sharply swerving past the corners as his mind raced with the mission at hand. As luck would have it, two major robberies were simultaneously taking place at different locations across the city. The Titans had split into two groups to deal with the problem. Four Titans would go one way while three Titans would go the other way.

The robbery Icon was assigned to deal with was taking place at a gem exhibition. Icon succeeded in being the first one to arrive apart from Starfire on the account of the kineceleran form.

"Alright," Icon burst through the double doors leading into the complex, eager for action as he always was whenever he was a blue saurian. "Drop the goods and—GYEAOW!" Icon felt himself go blind as his eyes stung with intense pain that sent him tumbling into a number of podiums.

"Icon!" shouted Starfire who had just been on her teammate's tail.

"It seems that even he's not faster than the speed of light…"

Starfire had just enough time to turn her head from the podiums to be sent reeling back by a white flash that struck her squarely in the face.

"And neither are you," said the culprit as he flexed a large bulb-like device attached to his arm. Dressed in a black and silver hi-tech suit was a middle-aged man who was sporting a black goatee. This was Dr. Light.

He was just about to return to pilfering whatever gems he could carry when a dark portal opened on the floor, allowing Raven to slowly rise in front of him. Dr. Light's face slackened as he actually swallowed. The criminal remembered this particular opponent all to well from a previous encounter.

"You're not still afraid of the dark, are you?" smirked Raven as she readied herself. Light scowled as he took a few steps backwards. It wasn't until he saw that his personal pride was at stake that he decided to make a stand. Summoning every bit of his miniscule amount of courage, Dr. Light engaged the bulbous devices on arms and fired two blasts of white light. Raven had already levitated a few of the larger podium's to counter Dr. Light's attack. The podiums burst into pieces as they made contact with the destructive beams of energy. The moment the debris cleared, both Raven and Light moved in. Raven wasted no time in gathering a handful of dark energy, which she then manipulated into a whip-like mass. After fighting Dr. Light once before, she had learned to not leave him any opening for a counterstrike.

Dr. Light was smacked across the side of his face and sent sprawling. The man quickly scrambled to his feet as he attempted to grab a device from his belt. Dr. Light had only just wrapped his fingers around a metallic sphere when he felt dark energy clamp the heels of his feet together and swing him around like a hammer throw. Light felt the device leave his fingers as his back smashed into a large display case, sending many of the formerly contained gems into the air.

Raven sped forward in the air as she prepared to finish the fight. "Lights out—AAAHHH!" Raven's smirk twisted in agony as the device that Dr. Light had lost a hold of exploded in a bright flash just as the gems that had been sent flying from the display case. The light had intensified as it reflected off of the multitude of gems, completely blinding and disorienting the sorceress. Raven fell to the ground as Dr. Light got back on his feet.

A large grin spread across Light's face as he realized how his stroke of luck had changed the tide of the battle. He smugly strode towards his fallen opponent who was still clutching her eyes in pain.

"Well, well, how the mighty have fallen," Dr. Light's lip curled in a sneer. "And to _think_, I used to be _afraid _of you!" He delivered a cruel kick to Raven's side. "I, Dr. Light, was actually afraid of _the dark_!"Dr. Light gave another kick that actually sent his victim rolling.

Raven tried to get push herself back up, but opening her eyes even a millimeter was enough to sicken her. "You actually made me doubt the might of LIGHT!" Raven felt another sharp kick dig into her side.

Dr. Light was almost half in mind to go into a jig. His opponent was completely at his mercy, but even good things had to come to an end. Dr. Light reactivated one of the bulbous devices and took careful aim, savoring every moment. "Oh, and any last words?" Dr. Light's smirk deepened even further. "Maybe a few of those magic words would be of use right now…" He chuckled to himself, but his laughter died when he felt something tap his shoulder. Dr. Light turned his head just in time for a fist to smash into his face. Light actually skidded across the floor before coming to a stop. He sat himself up and quickly turned his head to identify his attacker. Oddly enough, there was no one there. Sure there was Starfire who had suffered a direct blow from one of his attacks, but she was still incapacitated. But what of the one who had taken one of his less severe blows…? Light had only used a flare on him, not one of the beams from his cannons. Dr. Light approached the place where he had seen Icon crash to see if his suspicions could be confirmed. He rummaged through the fallen podiums. Much to Dr. Light's horror, there was nothing. Dr. Light quickly engaged the bulbous devices on his arms. "Come out of hiding," he growled while pointing. "I know you're here somewhere!"

"If you insist…" called out an eerie voice. Goosebumps actually began breaking out across Dr. Light's skin as he turned to see a cloud of protoplasm condensing to form the body of a ghoulish creature. It largely resembled a twisted version of a classic ghost. Its skin was bleach white, it had spindly arms, and at the center of its head was a single light red eye. "Boo!" Icon jerked forward at Dr. Light, causing the man to jump. Panicking, Dr. Light attempted to club Icon using one of the bulbous devices on his arms. The device merely passed through Icon like smoke as the protoplasm body began to dissipate. Soon, Icon was completely invisible to the naked eye. "Now you see me, now you don't…"

Dr. Light swallowed nervously as he tried to maintain a defiant expression. He took a few steps backwards, swiveling his head about. Where had his opponent vanished to? His question was quickly answered when he felt something knock him in the back of the joint of his leg, sending him tumbling. An impish laugh pierced the air. Dr. Light flushed in humiliation as he pushed himself back up.

"Amusing, am I?" he snarled. No sooner had Dr. Light uttered the words when he stepped and slipped on a pile of gems that had _somehow _scattered in his direction. "So that's your game is it?" grunted Dr. Light as he pushed himself up a second time. "You prefer to hide, rather than face me…" His mind had just formed a new idea. Perhaps he could _lure _this opponent out of hiding. The corners of Dr. Light's mouth twitched. "Are you afraid to face the might of _LIGHT?" _

A pale body of protoplasm condensed itself in front of Dr. Light. "Not really," admitted Icon. "But…" Icon clutched a fold of skin on the front of his chest. "Are _you _afraid of _THIS?_" Icon pulled the layer of skin back. Dr. Light's stomach instantly churned when a barrage of revolting tentacles erupted from between the folds of skin, flailing before him. Dr. Light's face became as white as a sheet before he fainted onto the floor in a heap.

"Huh," Icon scratched his head. "Guess I over did it a little…"

"Actually, he's just pathetic," said a familiar monotone voice.

Icon turned his head to see that Raven was picking herself back up. Her vision had returned, though she was rubbing the side of her head to soothe a throbbing headache. "But, yeah, you got him." Raven stared at Dr. Light's graceless form. The sorceress dizzily got to her feet and began observing the ghostly figure before her. "Looks like I finally got to see that alien…"

Not too far away, Starfire was simply watching the scene. The Tamaranean had actually revived when Icon had been acting as a poltergeist, but had decided that no action was necessary on her part upon seeing Dr. Light's humiliation. Furthermore, it was quite pleasant to simply watch Raven giving a small smile to an alien phantom.


	16. Face to Face

_Icon was hiking through the desert again. He was alone. It was nearing nightfall; he would soon have to find a place to stay for the night. Icon looked ahead to see an outcrop of rocks. That place would do. He wearily dragged his feet as the dark began swallowing the surroundings, looking forward to a well-earned rest…_

_A jolt went through his spine when the sound of footsteps bounded off the canyon walls. Someone was here! "Who's there?" he called out edgily into the dark. He tensed when a dark form rushed across the canyon floor before his eyes. "Who are you?" Icon was feeling unusually apprehensive. His fears were only confirmed when the dark form reappeared and tackled into him at full force, sending Icon skidding. _

_"All right," Icon pushed his pain-wracked body back up. "If that's the way you want to play…" Icon made for the Omnitrix and in a green flash of light he was the kineceleran. He zoomed forward to go head to head with this unknown foe. Icon was confident, almost nothing could touch him in this state. He was now neck and neck with the stranger. "Who are you?" repeated Icon. "What do you want? Why are you following me and—" _

_The stranger did the unthinkable and rushed ahead at a blinding speed, faster than even Icon. The stranger then turned and charged into Icon at full force. Icon was sent rolling at top speed and was somehow reverted back into a human in the process. He shook his head in astonishment. What had just happened? A familiar beep interrupted his train of thought. The Omnitrix was already working again. Not even stopping to consider why the device was operating so quickly, Icon slammed his hand on the Omnitirx's dial. He quickly took to the air as a lepidopterran, his transparent wings buzzing like crazy. _

_"Let's see how you like an air strike!" With that, Icon flew at the stranger and began firing various bursts of green slime from his mouth and eyestalks. Icon would have loved to see how this opponent would turn this situation around. He was high up in the air and could now strike practically anywhere on the field. What could this stranger possibly do now? As if to answer his question, the stranger evaded the blasts of slime in an amazing feat of acrobatics. The stranger then jumped onto a canyon wall and leapt with incredible force, shooting past Icon. The stranger then came down upon Icon with an outstretched foot. _

_Icon felt the axe-kick make full contact with his head. He was sent down to the ground with such force that he could have sworn that there had been a shockwave or two involved. The unknown opponent merely landed back onto the ground feet first. The shadowy stranger stepped forward to approach the cloud of dust that the fallen insect had made. A red flash blared through the dust and was succeeded by another green flash. A crystal shard shot out from the cloud of dust, missing the stranger's feet by a mere inch._

_"So you want to play rough?" A massive crystalline petrosapien revealed himself from the dust, cracking his knuckles. "I can do that." The stranger merely beckoned to Icon, inviting him to fight. Icon responded by charging forward and unleashed a wave of crystal projectiles with a sweep of his hand. The stranger nimbly leapt into the air, easily avoiding the crystal barrage. "GOTCHA!" Icon released a second wave of shards into air just after the stranger leapt. This fight was over now…_

_The stranger plowed through the crystal barrage with a series of midair kicks. "WHAT!" Icon couldn't believe what he was seeing. The stranger came down upon Icon like a juggernaut. This time a dust-storm was created as a massive shockwave rattled the canyon. The dust eventually cleared to reveal a mostly shattered petrosapien who was now lying helplessly on the ground. Icon was enveloped by a flash of red light and reverted to a human yet again, but this time he was not making for the Omnitrix. He was finished. This stranger, this inhumanly strong opponent, had beaten him. It was a struggle just to move a finger. _

_The stranger approached a beaten and battered Icon, looking down upon him. "Wh-what are you?" feebly asked Icon as he struggled to make out a face. The stranger merely lifted up a foot over Icon's head and brought it down full force…_

Icon woke up with a jolt, his entire body seized with fear. His breathing became less ragged when he realized it had all simply been a bad dream. Icon ran a hand across his face as he turned to his alarm clock that was sitting on his nightstand. It was still very early to be getting up, but Icon's mind was racing. After a nightmare like that he needed to find a way to calm down. Icon crawled out from under his bed covers and walked out his bedroom door.

A few moments of tiptoeing later, Icon was on the tower rooftop. He walked towards the edge, where he could receive the maximum amount of exposure to the cool night air. Icon closed his eyes, stretched his arms out, and deeply inhaled the salty ocean air. His taut muscles began to loosen and his mind started to placate. It was hard to believe that his fixation was troubling him to this extent.

Why was it disturbing him so? Why was he so concerned with that unknown stalker from the desert? It wasn't as if the person was as strong as in his dream. But there had been that look on Professor Paradox's face…What kind of person could instill that kind of unease in someone who had the power to control space and time at will?

"You're up?"

Icon opened his eyes and turned to see Raven sitting cross-legged in midair not too far away from him. "Y-yeah," Icon was a little startled by the unexpected company. "What are you doing up?"

"It's one of the few times when I can meditate in peace," explained Raven as she gave a shrug. "And you?"

"I had a little trouble sleeping," Icon took a seat near the roof edge.

"Happen too often?" Raven quirked an eyebrow.

"Not really," admitted Icon as he drummed his fingers. He took in a deep breath to receive another waft of the night air. "Gotta love that ocean."

"I guess you haven't been to the beach too much," noted Raven.

"Not since I got this," Icon held up his left arm, showing the Omnitrix. "I didn't exactly have a lot of time for breaks before I got here. But now…" Icon simply flopped onto his back.

XXX

It wasn't too long before Icon returned to his room again, his mind calm again. A little fresh air and an enjoyable conversation were all he had needed. Icon crawled back into bed and slowly began drifting off. After what seemed like just a minute later, a loud siren began going off. Icon let out a loud groan before pushing himself out from the warmth of his bed to head for the main room. He ran into the main room to find that he was the last person to arrive. Oddly enough everyone seemed to be rooted to the spot as they watched something on the display screen. Icon frowned. Normally everyone would be springing into action.

"What is it? What's going on?" inquired Icon. "Who is…it?" Ice filled his lungs the moment his eyes caught sight of the computer screen. He was seeing black and copper.

It was a man. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit that was equipped with metal shoulder pads. From the looks of it, this man was incredibly well built. Icon couldn't see the man's face, the black and copper he had seen earlier was in the way. The man was wearing a mask. It was a peculiar thing. The mask was divided lengthwise. One half of the mask was completely black while the other was copper. The copper side was the only side with an opening for a single eye. That one eye, it had the ferocity of a shark's. No, Icon wouldn't have gotten this feeling of unease from staring back at a shark.

"Wh-who is that?" Icon said feebly. Robin turned to Icon while wearing an unusually grave expression. The answer came in the form of one simple word.

"Slade."

Robin returned to the computer, typing like crazy.

"How bad is he?" asked Terra anxiously. The tension that the senior members were emitting was getting to her as well.

"_Way _bad," responded a grim Beastboy. The jokester's seriousness only confirmed the severity of the manner.

"Got a fix on his location," Robin finished punching a few keys into the computer. "Titans, move out!"

Terra and Icon were the only ones who lagged behind. "Terra," croaked Icon, "H-he looks just like…" Icon was only able to dumbly point at Slade's image that was still on the computer screen.

"I know," swallowed Terra. Slade greatly resembled the masked androids from the desert.

XXX

Nothing could have prepared Icon for this. Not even an ambush from his former alien pursuers had caught him off guard like this. Then again, the alien droids had merely been machines that had been _programmed_ to seek and destroy. Dealing with the actual programmer of a set of machines was another story. When Professor Paradox had introduced him to the alien warlord, Icon had felt a decent amount of unease upon laying eyes on the being that had been hunting him.

Now, he was about to relive the experience all over again. Icon didn't remember much of the race to the team's location of interest. The only thing on his mind was that sick feeling that was churning in his stomach. Icon hadn't even met this Slade and the man was already getting to him.

"Th-they've taken over the whole mine!" The team had arrived to the entrance of a diamond mine. Addressing them was a tattered looking miner, who was bearing various burns, cuts, and bruises. "They just came out of nowhere," the miner suddenly buckled at the knees as his breathing became more ragged. Robin caught the man by the shoulders in a nick of time.

"He's in shock," stated Robin. He turned to the rest of the Titans. "One of us will have to get him somewhere—"

"On it!" A blue kineceleran appeared in a flash of green light. Icon gingerly took the miner from Robin.

"Catch up with us as soon as possible," ordered Robin. With that Icon rushed off with the miner safely tucked away in his arms. As Icon rocketed away to carry the man to safety, he realized just how quickly he had volunteered himself for the task. Had he _actually_ done it because he felt that he had been right for the job?

"They came out of nowhere…" moaned the miner.

"Stay with me here," urged Icon. Icon may not have been a doctor but a bit of medical training that the Titans had given was telling Icon that it would be best to keep the man conscious. "Uh, tell me more about whoever popped up from nowhere."

"W-we had just cracked open another deposit of diamonds," muttered the miner. "Th-then somebody began firing these lasers at us and all of the equipment. They were these guys with masks…"

Icon's grip on the miner tightened, his fears were being confirmed. By then he had exited the grounds for the above ground facility for the mining complex and had caught sight of Jump City's armored authorities. "Here you go," Icon placed the miner into the arms of two of the officers. "Gotta rejoin my team now!" The churning in Icon's stomach intensified as he headed back to the mine's entrance. Perhaps there had been one other reason Icon had volunteered himself for the job earlier. He had been anxious to face whatever might be down there.

XXX

Tens of feet below the earth's surface, a laser bolt whizzed passed Terra's head. The geomancer responded by blindly hurling a volley of small rocks to provide cover from her assailants as she ran behind a large piece of machinery. Terra glanced past the machinery to get a better view of her opponents. Staring back at her were several black and copper masks that were equipped with pairs of ghastly white eyes.

The all too familiar robot commandos seemed half in mind to open fire upon Terra again when an even more familiar blue blur swept the squadron aside in a series of rushes.

"Perfect timing!" happily exclaimed Terra.

"Happy to be of service," Icon gave a small toothy from behind his Kineceleran windshield. However, his mood quickly changed upon looking back upon the masked assailants.

"It's actually them!" Icon's body tensed upon him getting another look at the scattered masked robot commandos that were pushing themselves back out.

"It sure is…" grimly acknowledged Terra. There was no denying that these were the same assailants from that night in the desert.

Icon was then forced zoom away when a series of laser bolts began arriving from the sides. As Icon ran across a cave wall, he realized just how many more of the androids were present in the underground complex. He was able catch a glimpse of Robin using a bow staff to smack away at a squad of the androids, Beastboy was crushing at least twenty more of the attackers as a stegosaurus, Starfire and Cyborg had just succeeded in tossing away the last of their opponents that had attempted to dog-pile them, and Raven had used her powers to create a miniature storm out of various inanimate objects that was now smashing every android within its vicinity.

After his quick recon of the area, Icon swerved about and ran back onto the floor. He had caught sight of a group of the androids that he could single out. Icon struck like a lightning bolt. He tackled one of the androids at full force and then struck a second one with a sweep of his tail. Icon then made a few swift evasive maneuvers to avoid several shots that were fired in his direction. Icon then came upon his remaining foes with his extended claws the moment he saw an opening…

CRACK! BANG!

Both Icon and the androids were knocked off of their feet as the ground beneath them suddenly shifted and twisted. Icon struck the rocky earth as a dreaded realization came to him. He had experienced this all too familiar phenomena before during that one week in the desert. Icon turned his head and sure enough, Terra was in the center of a whipping whirlwind. She was curled up in a ball trying to calm herself back down as her opponents were being effortlessly thrown aside.

Well, Icon knew the drill. Every now and then Terra's geomancy would go out of control for some reason and someone would have to take her to a safe spot to minimize the damage that the power would cause. This loss of control had been occurring less and less frequently since Terra and Icon's arrival to the tower but there had still been the occasional mishap.

Icon pushed himself off the ground and ran, zigzagging past the rocks that had been shaken loose from the ceiling. Fighting through the lashing wind, Icon succeeded in wrapping a clawed arm around Terra's body and then proceeded to exit the mine. The sooner they reached the surface the less likely anyone would be buried alive on the account of Terra's unintentional geomancy.

"Heh, we sure showed them," Icon gave a weak chuckle as he navigated the caverns. Terra had entered that usual state of depression that normally followed her loss of control and was in need of some cheering up. Feeling like a burden was never a pleasant emotion.

"Yeah, I guess we did," Terra actually broke into a small smile.

Icon was approaching a crossroads.

"And come to think about it, I guess I didn't _totally _mess up," mused Terra. "It's kind of a record. I haven't lost control like that for—" She was caught off when an odd explosion went off at Icon's feet. Terra flew out of Icon's grip as the two were sent flying in opposite directions. More odd explosions went off and a wall of fallen rocks that had broken off quickly separated the two teens.

XXX

"ICON!" Terra picked herself off from the ground and attempted to shift some of the rocks out of the way. After an avalanche like that it would be too risky to use her geomancy lest she wanted to chance creating another disturbance. After a few attempts to remove enough of the rocks with her hands, Terra stopped and sighed in defeat.

Terra's slumped posture quickly straightened when she heard the sounds of footsteps. She turned to see a tall muscular figure dashing away from her. The figure looked back at Terra only once to reveal a masked face. "Slade!" growled the geomancer. Terra ran at the fleeing criminal mastermind at top speed.

Part of this was exhilarating for her; she might actually be able to catch this dangerous enemy of the Titans. Thinking quickly, Terra raised a hand and focused her attention on the ceiling ahead of Slade. The ceiling caved in, blocking Slade's escape route.

"Looks like I've got you," Terra smirked as she warily approached Slade with a glowing pair of hands.

Suddenly, Slade leapt into the air and landed on his feet behind Terra with cat-like reflexes. He then delivered a swift sweep to Terra's legs, knocking the girl onto the ground. Slade then produced a metallic sphere…

XXX

"TERRA!" yelped Icon. He raced towards the rocky barrier in a fraction of a second and rapidly began removing any rocks that his slender arms could remove. Icon was forced to stop when his arms gave way to overexertion. "Well this is just_ great!_" he moaned. Icon's Kinceleran claws quickly engaged themselves when footsteps echoed through the tunnel. He turned to see a man with a lean yet well built frame in the distance. The man was simply standing there with his arms folded in front of him. The electric lights that were lined across the tunnel revealed that it was a masked man who was watching Icon with a single eye.

"Slade!" blurted Icon in spite of himself. At Icon's outburst, Slade turned to run. Icon smirked to himself. Did Slade really think that he could escape _that _way? Icon rushed at Slade in pursuit, unaware that Terra had done the exact same thing in the opposite direction on the other side of the rocky wall or that the masked sociopath had created at least one mechanical duplicate.

"Going somewhere, _punk?_" Icon easily caught up with his quarry using the Kineceleran's speed. In a blink off an eye, Icon cut off Slade's only opening for escape. "I've got you now…"

The Slade that Icon was facing seemed unnerved as he pulled out a metallic sphere. "On the contrary…" Slade's voice was deep and sinister.

At that moment, the two Slades, which Icon and Terra were each facing on opposite ends of the underground complex, tossed their respective metallic spheres. The Slade that Terra was facing tossed the metallic sphere over his shoulder while the Slade that Icon was facing tossed his metallic sphere past Icon's head. Both spheres detonated, dislodging more rocks from the rocky ceilings and trapping both pairs of opponents.

The two Slades also had one simple thing to say to each of their opponents: "_I've _got _you…_"

**Author's Note: For those of you who may be concerned that I may be following too close to the original _Teen Titans _story line, I can assure you that I plan on making my own modifications. If Slade plans on pulling any strings, it will be in an even craftier matter than before, which wouldn't be too difficult for a criminal mastermind. **

**No Flames Please**


	17. Two Little Talks I

Even though Icon was currently an organism with that was in many ways stronger and faster than a human, he was scared. Slade apparently seemed to be aware of what Icon was currently capable of, and yet that single eye did not reflect any worry or anxiety. Instead, Slade looked as if he was the true predator in this new game of cat and mouse.

"_You_," Icon poised himself, "Are _SO _going to get it…"

"Was that a _threat?_" mocked Slade as he pulled out his bow staff.

"It's a _fact!_" With that, Icon went at Slade like a speeding bullet. Icon scored a clean hit, tackling Slade with such force that the man was sent skidding backwards. However, when Icon made a u-turn Slade quickly extended his staff and caught Icon at the ankles. It was then Icon's turn to be sent sprawling as he was sent face first into the dirt.

"It seems we have much to discuss…" Slade said coolly as he elegantly picked himself up from the ground.

"I don't have time for small talk," Icon got back to his feet and prepared for a second round against his opponent.

"Oh I think you'll have more than enough time," Slade was oddly placid.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Three, two, one…" The instant Slade had counted down to one, a high-pitched noise accompanied a flashing red light from the dial on Icon's chest. Icon was engulfed in a red light and had once again resumed his human form.

Slade seemed to smirk from behind his mask. "Don't think I haven't taken a little time to get to know you before today…"

There was _nothing_ that could have described the dread that was welling up in Icon's stomach. Here he was tens of feet below the Earth's surface, the Omnitix had timed out on him, and to top it all off he was trapped with an armed sociopath who seemed to know Icon better than he knew himself.

"Uh oh…" Icon nearly uttered the words in a whimper from his paling lips. That single eye on Slade's mask was viewing him the same way a cat would watch a canary in a birdcage.

"Quite right," hissed Slade as he began to move in.

After summoning whatever courage he had left in him, Icon managed to direct his hands to his commissioned utility belt. Following a bit of fumbling, Icon grabbed a portable hand held weapon similar in design to the ones used by the masked androids. Since there had always been a risk that the Omnitrix would time out on Icon during a mission, the Titans had been provided him with at least one method to defend himself. Icon fired the weapon. Much to Icon's shock, Slade deflected the oncoming laser bolt with his bow staff and smacked the handheld weapon out from Icon's hands, disarming him. With another twirl of his staff, Slade manipulated the handheld weapon so that it fell perfectly into his outstretched palm.

"You should really be more careful, you could _hurt yourself_ with something like this," Slade chided mockingly as he then proceeded to crush the handheld weapon with his bare hand.

Icon reeled back out of fear and astonishment as Slade then tossed the remains of the weapon to the ground. "Now, where was I?" Slade's body relaxed as he put away his bow staff. Much to the criminal mastermind's amusement, Icon was now desperately tapping away at the Omnitrix's buttons, vain attempts to reactivate the device.

"Don't bother with that, you know just as well as I do that the Omnitrix will not be operable again after such a short time. So you might as well listen to my proposal."

"_What?_" Icon was both baffled and shocked. First, Slade had just made it known that he knew what the device on Icon's wrist was, and then there was the topic of Slade's ever so desired conversation.

"I'll put it in more simple terms. I'm making you an offer, a deal," Slade paused. "Should I make things even simpler?"

"I know what a deal is!" retorted Icon. "And whatever you're selling I'm not buying!"

"So Beastboy has already begun to rub off on you," noted Slade, scratching the chin of his mask. "I see that I was correct in arranging this meeting…"

Icon was floored. "You mean this whole heist—"

"Was planned simply for the pleasure of meeting you and your friend." Slade seemed to be smirking with glee from beneath his mask.

Icon scowl intensified. "_You're _the one who was tracking me and Terra in the desert!" It had been becoming more and more obvious since he had seen Slade's face on the screen. The masked androids, the listening device, Slade's mask…they all had that distinct copper and black pattern.

"You _are _a clever one," Slade's voice was ironic.

"Well if you wanted to _meet _us, why'd have your robots attack us?"

"I had to test the two of you, Icon," Slade said it as if what he had done was the most obvious and reasonable action imaginable.

"_Test _us?" The ever-increasing unpleasantness of the situation suddenly spiked for Icon.

"I needed to see how I could help you."

"_HELP US?_ You almost got us killed!"

"You need that help, Icon," insisted Slade. "It makes you _stronger. _That's how you've been able to survive, you don't just endure, you adapt!" Slade paused for a moment. "It's what I like about you…"

"Where are you going with this?" asked Icon edgily.

"I'm offering you a chance to increase that strength," Slade extended a hand.

Icon would have remained frozen on the spot from the shock at Slade's words if he hadn't heard a familiar beeping noise emanating from his left wrist. "Sorry," retorted Icon as he made for the Omnitirx's dial, "But I'm not interested—" He was just about to slam his hand down upon the dial when Slade quickly lunged at him.

Icon felt his left wrist seized in a vice-like grip as his arm was painfully twisted behind his back. Slade then proceeded to pin Icon facedown on to the ground and gripped Icon's remaining arm, immobilizing him. "At least hear me out," hissed Slade into Icon's ear.

"_Why?" _grunted a struggling Icon.

"Because you're still unrefined," Slade tightened his hold, "You have potential but you still lack complete control, you still have more boundaries to push," Slade turned his attention to Icon's left wrist.

"Aren't you tired of being restricted by that device's limitations? Wouldn't you rather be able to use it to its fullest extent, to be able to always transform into the form that you desire, to no longer worry about a time limit?"

"Wh-what makes you think, ack!" Icon gritted his teeth in pain from the hold that Slade had on him. "What makes you think that you can do that? How do you know?"

"It's merely simple deduction," said Slade. "If we join together, we can uncover the secrets of the Omnitrix…"

"I _told _you I'm not _interested! _I'm with the Titans—"

"Icon, you don't honestly believe that they are truly your friends, do you?" derided Slade.

"What do you know?"

"They only accepted you when you and your traveling companion took care of their little house problem."

"How do you know about—_Wait_," Icon's scowl deepened as a thought occurred to him, "Was _Plasmus _another _test_?"

"You catch on fast," Slade's voice was laced with amusement. "But as I was saying, you're nothing more than a tool to them."

"Why should I believe _you_?" Icon was trying to hide his insecurity with his antagonism.

"Because I've taken the time to understand you Icon," Slade released his hold. Icon scrambled to his feet and quickly distanced himself to one of the rocky walls. It wasn't until he tried to engage the Omnitrix did he notice the strange feeling in his right arm. It was an odd mixture of numbness and a burning sensation that was shooting through the limb. Icon clutched his right arm in discomfort as it dangled limply at his side.

While Slade had had Icon pinned to the ground, he had gripped Icon's right arm in such a way that it would be incapacitated for a period of time. Slade had undoubtedly wanted to ensure that his one-man audience would continue to listen.

"You once led a _peaceful_ existence, but destiny called," Slade returned his focus to the Omnitrix, "And with destiny you were faced with danger and loss. You then had to learn to become stronger _fast _or risk facing even more loss. But even all that effort may still not be enough. I'm the only one who can help you with that; your so-called friends only want you to prevent _them _from suffering loss. To them you're no more of a tool than the Omnitrix," Slade paused again so that the words could sink in. "So, Icon, what will it be?"

Icon stared at Slade hard. True, he and Terra had not been made members of the team until they had defeated Plasmus, and come to think about it, a reason Icon had gained the approval of each Titan in the first place was because he had prevented them from suffering loses. Most of the trust he had gained had been from fending off the H.I.V.E and helping Robin to safety. Heck, it wasn't until he had made short work of Dr. Light as an Ectonurite that he had been able to gain _Raven's _approval. And then there had been Terra, had she only traveled with him to seek protection? Was that the only reason anyone had ever wanted him around, for the Omnitrix? Perhaps there was a ring of truth in Slade's words…

But wait; there were a few holes in Slade's logic. Icon began to remember moments disproving the man's words. When Icon had received that head injury, the Titans hadn't been concerned about the Omnitrix. The Omnitrix hadn't been provided medical attention, given a bed, or offered food. Terra and Beastboy hadn't been waiting at a bedside for the _Omnitrix _to wake up. It had been Icon, the person that had been the center of everyone's concern. No one had paid any attention to the Omnitrix, the one thing that would supposedly have made Icon valuable. If Icon had been no more of a tool than the Omnitrix, then wouldn't he have been cast aside as dead weight? Wouldn't the Titans have tried taking the Omnitrix for themselves if its bearer had been out of action? And why would anyone have waited at his bedside if no one had really cared about him?

Icon then looked at his right arm that was dangling uselessly at his side. Slade had claimed that he was the only one that could help Icon. But would someone who cared for Icon's well-being have done something like this to him?

"Well, Icon?" Slade was getting impatient. Icon gave his response with three simple actions. He first shot Slade a glare, moved his left wrist close to his face, and pressed his nose to the button that engaged the Omnitrix. Icon felt a powerful grip take a hold of his left arm for the second time that day. He looked up to see Slade's eye narrowing in irritation. Icon winced in pain as Slade slowly began to tighten his hold on his one remaining good arm. "Perhaps you need a little more _persuasion…" _

Icon found himself dropping to his knees, yelling in pain as Slade suddenly applied even more pressure. His arm felt like it was on the verge of snapping in two. "Are you reconsidering?" Slade's narrowed eye was now signaling sadistic glee.

"No, he's not!"

Slade looked over his shoulder to see a certain indigo-cloaked sorceress rising from a dark portal that had formed in the ground. Upon hearing the explosion that had separated Terra and Icon, Raven had been one of the team members that had been sent to check up upon the two on the account of her phasing abilities.

Icon took advantage of the distraction and turned the Omnitrix's dial with his nose. He quickly proceeded to use his nose to ungracefully slam the dial.

Slade turned his head back in Icon's direction when his single eye caught sight of a green flash. He quickly discovered that his hand was no longer encircling the slender arm of a teenage boy, but was now barely clutching a very large and muscular red arm. Slade looked up to find himself staring back into the four yellow eyes of one very aggravated Tetramand.

Icon easily broke free of Slade's hold and used two of his four hands to swat the man across the cavernous room. Slade smacked into a rocky wall before his limp form slunk to the floor.

"I told you that you were going to get it," said a stone-faced Icon as he observed Slade who was slumped against the cavern wall. A few small groans told Icon and Raven that Slade had not been killed by the impact.

"You got him!" Raven actually sounded astounded. She quickly pulled out her communicator. "Robin's probably going to give you the rest of the _year_ off—" Raven suddenly paused for some reason.

"What is it?" Icon cocked his head in curiosity at Raven, who was staring at Slade intently.

"We have to make sure if it's really him."

"What?" Icon's face slackened. "Wh-what do you mean?" Had he just risked losing his arms earlier for nothing?

"_Well_, there was this time that Slade sent us on a wild goose chase one time with a copy of himself…"

"Maybe it _is_ him this time!" Icon approached Slade to remove the signature black and copper mask. The thought of having successfully brought such a criminal to justice began to sink in, it was exciting Icon. "So, do you think Robin will really give me the year off?" Icon's smile quickly vanished upon removing Slade's mask. Instead of a face, Icon was staring back at a dark computer screen and some wires.

"He _would _have," noted Raven.

The computer screen suddenly lit up. On the screen was the number five. The five then became a four, and the four proceeded to become a three. An odd computerized beep sounded off every time the number on the screen changed. "Oh snap!" Icon's four eyes widened upon realizing that what he was facing was more than just a mechanical duplicate. He felt his heart stop when the computer screen reached zero.

Icon shut his eyes, bracing himself for what was to come. This was it!

The explosion rocked the cavernous room, sending a barrage of rocks tumbling down from the ceiling.

However, there was only one odd thing about the whole occurrence. Icon didn't feel a thing. He had felt no heat or force from the explosion, or the crushing weight of the falling rocks. Icon tentatively opened his eyes to see himself surrounded by darkness. He eventually allowed his eyes to fully open and then turned his head around to make more sense of what had happened. Any questions in his mind were answered when he saw Raven with an outstretched hand that was brimming with dark energy.

"N-nice call there," breathed Icon as he wiped the nervous sweat from his brow. He was truly grateful for the magical shield that was covering the both of them.

Raven shrugged. "Just returning a favor."

**No Flames Please.**


	18. Two Little Talks II

"Ah, Terra, you walked right into this trap," The true Slade was now advancing towards Terra as he pulled out his bow staff. "At least we finally have the chance to talk."

"Mind if I talk with my hands," crossly retorted Terra, her narrowed eyes and clenched hands glowing dangerously. With a few motions of her fists, a stone pillar erupted from the wall and hurtled towards Slade. Slade nimbly leapt to the side, dodging the oncoming pillar, but was forced to somersault to avoid being caught by a second pillar that shot up from the ground.

"Good, Terra," Slade rolled on to his feet, "But not good enough!" Slade lunged and used his staff to cut Terra off at the ankles. Terra was then forced roll out of the way to avoid being jutted by a sharp jab from Slade's staff. The geomancer crab-walked backwards in a moment of clumsiness as Slade made for another lunge at her. With a sweep of Terra's hand, a large chunk of earth jutted out from beneath one of Slade's feet, sending him off balance and staggering backwards. Terra followed up her counterattack by then sending the slab of earth forward to finish the fight.

Amazingly, Slade avoided the attack by planting his staff into the ground and quickly swinging himself around the oncoming slab of earth. "Impressive," remarked Slade as he released his hold on the staff and landed on his feet, "You've come a long way since I first laid an eye on you…"

Terra glared. "What do _you_ know about me? Oh, _wait_," she pretended to act as if she had just figured out an unfathomable mystery, "You wouldn't happen to have been spying on me, would you?" Terra's jaw tightened when Slade produced a small metal object, a butterfly hair clip, the one she had lost in the fight against Animo's mutated scorpion. Slade tossed the hair clip to Terra's feet. The blonde geomancer stiffly bent down to pluck the hair clip from the ground, never taking her eyes off of Slade. This only confirmed the suspicion she and Icon had shared upon first seeing Slade's image at the tower.

"I know everything about you, so yes, I have been watching you for quite some time," explained Slade.

"You also attacked me and my friend!" retorted Terra.

"I merely needed to see where the two of you stood," asserted Slade. "And I like what I've seen so far."

"Then you should know to back off!" growled Terra, her fist glowing dangerously.

"I'm quite aware of what you're capable of," Slade said coolly. "You are more dangerous than anything I've ever seen," Slade paused. "It's why you were always running…"

Terra's fists tightened, Slade's words were a bitter reminder.

"Earthquakes. Avalanches. Mudslides. Everywhere you went, you would try to do good. And everywhere you went, you would fail. So everyone would turn against you..."

"Not everyone did!" retorted Terra.

"Ah yes, then _he _came along," Slade actually chuckled to himself. "After all that, you managed to find yourself a travel companion. The first person that didn't reject you."

"And I've got even more friends now," Terra smiled to herself and then smirked at Slade. " And once they get here, you're going to be in for—"

"You don't _really_ believe they're your friends, do you, Terra?" Slade skeptically arched his eye.

Terra glared. "Why should I believe _you_?"

"Perhaps because I'm the only one who has not attempted to use you."

"_Use _me?" Terra slightly lowered her fist in confusion.

"You have great power, Terra. Have you ever considered that your so-called friends may have been trying to use it for their own benefit?"

"My friends wouldn't do that," asserted Terra, "They took me in, gave me a home, and they've even been helping me with my—"

"Like the _Lance Training Program,_" Slade actually chuckled to himself. "Touching, but a meager effort nonetheless…"

"Hey!" retorted Terra, "He did a lot for me back there!"

"And how much has that helped you so far? A few minutes ago you nearly brought this entire mine down. You need more than just a few obstacle courses and extraterrestrial opponents," Slade leaned down and plucked a stone that was caked with dirt from the ground. He held it out for Terra to see.

"Right now you are still…_rough_ around the edges," Slade's fingers enveloped the stone. He began squeezing it to the point that the dirt coating the stone started to crumble. "What you really need is a teacher, a mentor," Slade stopped squeezing the stone. "Come with me, Terra, and I can teach you to shine." With that Slade opened his hand to reveal a gleaming diamond.

Terra stared at Slade. The man who had both stalked and attacked her and Icon was now making her an offer. How could he be trusted? Did Slade expect her to think that he was the only one who could transform her into something as brilliant as a diamond?

But could Slade also be right to some degree? Were the people who had not driven her away only interested in what her power could provide? Was that the only reason why the Titans were willing to deal with her occasional destructive outbursts of power? Now that Terra thought about it, she had even suggested to Icon when she had first met him that traveling together would be beneficial because it would offer the two of them protection. Could that companionship have been built on Icon's need for a battle partner who could protect him between transformations and her need for a more skilled partner? Were her friendships actually based on such profit?

Terra's train of thought was interrupted when her fists tightened and she felt an odd pinch in one of her hands. She opened her hand to see her butterfly hairclip. It was then that she noticed the small crack that ran through part of the hairclip. A single memory came flooding into her mind.

The hairclip had been broken. A pair of small yet dexterous hands had taken the time and effort to fix the hairclip, just for Terra. There had also been those bulbous yellow eyes that had looked up at her. Those eyes had shown something: genuine compassion. At that moment, Icon had been trying to help Terra through her ordeal; he had been trying to assure her that she could somehow gain control over her power. Icon hadn't gone through the trouble of helping her through that one week of training in the desert because he felt like it was necessary for his own survival or benefit. He had gone through the trouble because he had wanted to help Terra as a friend. Friends were willing to make sacrifices for each other. The Titans were no exception.

Terra looked up from the hairclip. "I've got another idea," she glared at Slade, "I'll find a way to shine on my own!"

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a green gopher had just popped its head out from the ground from behind Terra.

"A valiant effort, Terra," Slade actually laughed, "But also a _meaningless _one. As I've said before, you won't get what you truly need from the Titans. As a matter of fact you don't even _belong _with the Titans."

"Yes she does!" Unable to contain himself, Beastboy had reassumed his human form and had joined Terra's side. For once, the changeling looked angry.

"And I suppose that you're any wiser?" Slade slowly shifted into a fighting stance at the sight of the new arrival. A dark portal suddenly appeared on a rocky wall by Beastboy and Terra. Slade's body unconsciously tensed when Raven stepped out of the portal with a red ten-foot tall Tetramand.

"Do you think we'll be getting the year off now?" Icon happily began cracking all four sets of his knuckles.

"Oh yes," Raven was gathering energy in her palms.

Slade took a few steps backwards as he took the scene in. Despite being a master martial artist, he still knew better than to push his luck by facing his four opponents at once. Acting quickly, Slade reached for his belt. "One of you _will _need my help. And until that day comes," he pulled out a metal sphere, "I'll be waiting…"

Slade threw the sphere to the ground. It emitted bright flash of light before releasing a thick vapor. The four teens instinctively shielded their eyes. By the time that the vapor had dissipated enough for them to see again, Slade had vanished without a trace. Not even a few footprints were visible.

"He's gone…" gasped Beastboy. Despite the number of times that Slade had escaped from the Titans, he had never ceased to astound them with his elusiveness.

XXX

"Some night," Icon drew up his knees to his chin as he sat on the shoreline, watching the rising sun. The team had long since returned to Titans Tower and was resting up from the recent battle. Despite the fact that the sun's rays were beating down upon her, Icon still felt an odd chill throughout his body. The only thing keeping the chill from spreading was the company of Beastboy and Terra.

"Well it's not every night you meet a bad guy like Slade," pointed out Beastboy.

"No kidding," agreed Terra, "He gave the creeps." It took everything in her power not to shudder at the memory of Slade. There was just something about them that was so…_unsettling. _Perhaps it was the menacing look in his eye, his smooth sinister voice, or maybe it was simply the fact that Slade had been stalking her and Icon for so long.

"Tell me about it," grimly chuckled Icon, attempting to cover his anxiety. They had always said that you would fear something less if you knew more about it. Icon had assumed the same thing when he and Terra first discovered that they were being followed in the desert. If they found out who the culprit was, they would be able to face whoever it was head on and be able to lay their fears to rest. However, that something was Slade. Finding out that it was been such a person had not laid anything to rest. Instead, Icon's worries were only greater than before.

Icon thought back to Professor Paradox, to the face that the time traveler had worn when he had been asked about the mystery assailant. It was now no wonder to Icon why Paradox had been so grim, he had been asking about _Slade. _

The most frightening aspect of it all was that the Titans would have to face Slade again, that man was going to make sure of it.

"At least when he shows up again," began Beastboy, "We'll be ready."

**No Flames Please.**


	19. Date With Destiny I

"You're closing in on him!" Robin's voice rang from Icon's communicator. Icon was zigzagging past various buildings in his Lepidopterran form. It had started as a nightly patrol, but a local break in at a jewelry store had quickly changed things.

Icon was secretly thankful that this had occurred. A mission like this was what he needed to get his mind off of his recent confrontation with Slade. Icon looked down at the street beneath him with three of his eyestalks while keeping one on the screen of his communicator. He could see a symbol indicating Robin's position. Robin was currently in pursuit of the culprit on his R-Cycle and it was now Icon's job to cut the thief off.

When Icon felt he was close enough, he dove to a lower altitude. He soon saw an odd-looking shadow poking from around a street corner.

"Hello!" Icon fired a large bullet of slime upon catching sight of one of the most bizarre people he had ever met. It was a man, but where a head should have been attached, there was the complete body of a giant spider. Even though Icon had seen him from earlier on in the chase, he was still bewildered by this man-spider.

The man-spider quickly responded with reflexes no less suited to a spider and narrowly dodged Icon's projectile. Icon had just reared back to follow up his attack with another shot when the man-spider retaliated by spitting a white glob at him. The man-spider scored a solid hit and Icon was sent flying backwards into a building.

Icon tried moving but found himself to be completely stuck to the side of the building. He quickly realized just what the man-spider had spat at him. If this hadn't been a mission Icon might have found this funny.

"I'm a bug and I got caught in a web," mused Icon, "Go figure."

Icon turned his head upon hearing a familiar motor and saw Robin riding in from around the corner. "Go get him!" cheered Icon. The man-spider turned to flee upon spotting Robin, sprung onto the side of a building, and began scuttling up the side. Robin drove up to the base of the building and leapt off of his vehicle while reaching for his belt. He fired his grappling hook, which securely latched near the top of the edifice. With the press of a button on the grappling hook's handle, Robin zipped after the man-spider. Suddenly, the man-spider whipped around and fired a pair of twin purple beams from his fangs. The beams struck Robin, whose body immediately became paralyzed upon contact.

"Can't move!" Robin was both astounded and horrified. He was astounded that the man-spider's attack had completely immobilized his body. He was terrified that his limbs had become entirely rigid and that his fingers could no longer grip onto the grappling hook's handle. Robin fell to the ground like a rock.

"ROBIN!" Starfire flew in from seemingly out of nowhere, swooping down and catching Robin moments before he hit the ground. At that instant, the remaining members of the team had caught up with Robin and Starfire. Cyborg, one of the team's medics, examined Robin.

"He is…okay?" Starfire asked anxiously.

"He will be," assured Cyborg. "The venom's effect is only temporary."

"Getting away," groaned Robin. Despite everything, Robin was still able to move his jaw enough to form speech. "We have to—go after him…" He toppled over like a piece of cardboard.

"You mean, _we _have to go after him," stated Raven as Starfire picked Robin back up.

"_You _need to chill 'til that stuff wears off," agreed Cyborg.

"But—" Robin began to protest.

"We can handle it," assured Terra.

The guy's got a spider for a head," pointed out Beastboy, "Not like he's gonna be hard to find."

"Hemhem…"

Everyone save for Robin turned his or her head to see an annoyed Icon who was still stuck to the side of a building.

XXX

Roughly an hour later, Cyborg, Raven, and Terra were following a Vulpimancer and a green bloodhound. Icon and Beastboy were each trying to follow the man-spider's scent trail. So far, their search had led the team to the suspension bridge over the city bay. Everyone stopped when a dial on Icon's forelimb began blinking red. Beastboy chose at that moment to change back into his human form.

"Find anything?" asked Cyborg as Icon resumed his own human form in a flash of red light.

"I _had _his scent, but I lost it," sighed Icon. Everyone then turned to Beastboy.

"Same thing," groaned Beastboy. He scratched the back of his head as he absent-mindedly walked near the edge of the bridge and began taking in the view of the bay. "For a guy with a spider for a head, he can really throw you off."

"First Robin and now this," Raven sighed as she opened her ringing communicator.

"Well," mulled Terra, "I guess it could be worse…"

"Uh, guys…" Beastboy's face suddenly paled.

"What?"

Beastboy pointed to something in the distance. Everyone followed Beastboy's finger and saw what appeared to be a black cloud in the distance that was quickly approaching the bridge. A black cloud that was _buzzing! _

"Titans," Robin's voice rang from Raven's communicator, "Any luck finding our jewel thief?"

"We found something worse," responded Raven.

The black cloud had arrived close enough to reveal that it was in fact a swarm of unusually large insects. More specifically, they were oversized black and white moths, with _sharp_ _mandibles! _

"Incoming!"

Groups of the incoming moths began clustering around one of the bridge's cables. They quickly began making short work of the cable, their mandibles chewing through the metal like tissue paper. The cable broke in two in a matter of seconds, causing the bridge to suddenly rock back and forth. The group struggled to maintain their balance as present vehicles were sent sliding as a result of the now tilted street level. The faces of all five teens tensed when they witnessed the moths moving to another cable.

"Teen Titans!" barked Cyborg. "Go!"

Beastboy morphed into a large pterodactyl and took flight alongside Raven as Cyborg simply charged forward with his sonic cannon engaged.

Terra turned to Icon. "I can't use anything from here, this bridge is too unstable!"

Icon observed the scene. Terra was right, an attempt to remove large amounts of cement from a suspension bridge over a bay with Terra's geomancy was risky enough, tampering with this particular bridge would be unthinkable.

"Got it," Icon began acting the moment he heard the beep of the Omnitrix, "Ammo coming up!" After a press of a button, a few twists, a slam on a dial, and a flash of green light, Icon had transformed into a Petrosapien. Icon set a crystal hand to the ground and immediately began growing a very large cluster of crystals. "There," Icon broke his hand away, "That should start you off."

"Terra! Icon!" called Raven. "We need some cover!"

The two turned to see that Raven was raising Cyborg on a platform of dark energy to the cable that the moths were tearing through. Beastboy's pterodactyl beak and claws were already making short work of a number of the moths but there were still many more.

Icon charged forward as Terra began using her geomancy to break off pieces of the crystals she had been supplied. Pieces of crystal soon began flying towards a group of airborne moths as Icon dove into his own group of the moths.

It was like trying to fight through a dense forest. Instead of vegetation, there were giant fuzzy, voracious insects. No matter how many Icon swatted, crushed, sliced through, or struck down with crystal projectiles, there were always seemed to be more. Heck, even the droids he used to fight had never been _this _numerous. Then again, the alien droids had probably never been _breeding_ in some place.

For a moment, the moths succeeded in burying Icon alive. However, the moths were quickly forced to retreat when a number of their brethren were skewered upon crystal structures that suddenly protruded from Icon's body.

"Boo-yah!"

Icon turned to see that Cyborg had successfully landed onto the bridge after not only clearing away the moths from the second cable, but had also repaired the cable and had taken out even more of the moths in the process of descending. Raven and Beastboy both landed on the ground. The latter was joined by Terra just as he shifted back from his pterodactyl form.

"Did we win?" tentatively asked Icon. He had noticed that the moths appeared to be retreating. The question was answered when everyone looked up at an extra loud buzzing sound. Suspended in the air front of them was another swarm of the moths. This time, the moths appeared to be even more numerous.

Cyborg numbly lifted his forearm to activate his built in communicator. "Uh, we're going to need back up…."

Icon tightened his crystal fists. Even with Robin and Starfire, it would probably take something short of a miracle to fend this swarm off. The entire swarm swooped in.

The fight with the first swarm had been bad enough, but there was almost nothing that could describe the fight with the second swarm. The only words for it were _absolute chaos_. The swarm literally flooded the bridge.

Cyborg was actually sent back by a mob of the moths, Raven was forced to summon a barrier to shield herself from the wave of moths, Beastboy was barely able to keep one step ahead as a tiger, and Icon had to grow a crystal wall to keep himself and Terra from being swamped by the oncoming bugs.

"I'm really starting to hate bugs," growled Terra as she levitated a few crystals from the makeshift wall. She then proceeded to launch the crystals to skewer a few moths that had come around the wall.

"Next time," Icon smashed an oncoming moth, "Remind me to bring some bug spray…" First, they had had to deal with a man-spider and now they had to deal with this!

The two teens momentarily stopped fighting when a large number of moths presented a united front against them. The most frightening aspect was that this group probably didn't even represent a tenth of the entire swarm.

"Well," Icon melded both of his crystal hands into blades, "It's been fun, Terra." Even though Icon's crystal skin was currently protecting him from being devoured alive by these monstrous moths, he would be vulnerable again in matter of minutes when the Omnitrix's timer ran out.

Terra grimly nodded. "I've have had fun too…"

The two then charged forward, their battle cries ringing through the air. It was then that the moths did the unexpected, they simply rose into the air and left. Icon and Terra stopped in their tracks completely dumbfounded.

The blaring from the red flashing hourglass symbol on Icon's chest was the only thing that broke the silence between the two teens. "What just happened?" asked a confused Icon. He watched as the entire swarm left the abandoned the bridge.

Icon and Terra then proceeded to join Beastboy, Raven, and Cyborg.

"Anyone want to tell me why they just decided to fly off?" Terra was equally quizzical. The swarm had just been on the verge of victory, why on Earth had it retreated?

Raven opened her beeping communicator in response to Terra's question.

"I bought all of you some time," Robin's voice rang over the communicator. Everyone looked over Raven's shoulder just in time to see the face of a black and white humanoid moth appear on the screen of the communicator. "His name's Killer Moth," explained Robin, "He's controlling the mutant insects. Find him and stop him." Killer Moth's image was then replaced by the image of a blonde teenage girl who was wearing a pink band in her hair. "Start your search with her, " continued Robin, "Name's Kitten."

"Who is she?" asked Raven.

"She is a manipulative gremplork not worthy of Robin's time!" Starfire's voice suddenly rang out from the communicator. She sounded unusually irked.

"Gremplork?" Beastboy was baffled by both the term and Starfire's tone of voice.

"She's got some kind of connection to Killer Moth," explained Robin. "Find the connection and I bet you'll find him. Starfire will join you to help with the search."

"Hey, what about you?" Beastboy piped up again. "Aren't you going to help us?"

"I can't," Robin's face twisted into a grimace, "I have a _date._"

"A _what?_"

Robin's grimace deepened as he took a deep breath to recount what had happened only a few minutes earlier…

_"Uh, we're going to need back up…"_

_"Right," After recovering from the man-spider's venom at Titan's Tower thanks to Starfire's treatment, Robin had received Cyborg's report through the main computer, "We're on our way."_

_Robin and Starfire had been about to take off when Killer Moth's image appeared on the main computer._

_"Don't bother," declared the mad scientist, "Even if you defeat a few of my children you won't be able to stop me from releasing the entire swarm." Killer Moth stepped out of the way to reveal a collection of large glass pens. Robin and Starfire both tensed at the sight of a multitude of dark masses that were buzzing angrily. "Unless you want your city reduced to a moth-eaten wasteland," continued Killer Moth, "You'll do exactly as I say._

_"What do you want?" growled Robin._

_"My demands are simple," stated Killer Moth, "The city will declare me ruler, the Teen Titans will surrender, and Robin…"_

_Robin's posture straightened upon being addressed so specifically. Nothing could have prepared him for what Killer Moth said next._

_"…Will…take this lovely young lady to her junior prom."_

_At that moment, a computer window containing Kitten's image appeared alongside Killer Moth. _

_"Hi, Robbie-poo!" _

XXX

"A _date_…" mused Icon as he and the rest of the group had just arrived at the main room at Titan's Tower to meet Starfire and to begin with their search. "We nearly get eaten alive over a _date_!"

"It doesn't get any better than that," Raven seemed to agree with Icon's aggravation.

Cyborg walked over to the main computer. "I'm going to start tracking down that girl's home address," Cyborg began punching in computer keys, "It shouldn't take too long."

"How hard could it be to find her?" laughed Beastboy. "Her name's _Kitten!_"

Everyone cringed at a loud angry growl that filled the room. All five teens turned to see Starfire standing in the doorway to the main room, _fuming! _Her eyes were glowing bright green and steam was actually emitting from her clenched fists that were on the verge of forming starbolts.

"Uh, hey, Star," nervously greeted Icon. Unfortunately for Icon, he was both the one that was standing the closest to Starfire and a relatively new member who was not used to the Tamaranean's anger.

Starfire responded by taking a deep breath and unclenching her fists, calming herself down for the time being. "I merely wish to tell all of you," began Starfire, "That I will not be joining you."

"What?" sounded out five surprised voices.

"Robin's orders were to investigate the girl," stated Starfire, "While you investigate her dwellings, _I _will be investigating her _personally…" _

"You mean," Terra said slowly, "As in actually going to the prom?"

"As I said," Starfire's eyes narrowed, "I will be investigating her _personally._" With that she stormed off.

The room was silent for almost a full minute before Icon let out a cough.

"Should we let her go by herself?" asked Icon uncertainly. Icon was normally accustomed to a sweet and bubbly Starfire who was willing to show kindness even to her enemies. Now, she seemed half in mind to rip somebody's head off. Needless to say, this was unnerving Icon.

"He's actually got a point," noted Raven, "One of us should go with her and oversee damage control."

"Who should go?" mused Terra.

"Well," thought Cyborg, "It's gonna have to be somebody who won't stick out too much."

"Somebody who can work with a crowd," said Beastboy, scratching his chin.

"Someone who wouldn't risk destroying everything," commented Terra.

"Someone who would be able to stand up to an _alien's _strength," added Raven.

"Yeah," murmured Icon inadvertently as he tried deciding who he would cast a vote for regarding the assignment.

"I'm glad you agree," Raven pointed to the door, "Now go get a suit."

"WHAT? _ME_?" Icon felt his heart nearly stop.

"Your idea," shrugged Terra.

"Relax, you'll be fine," assured Cyborg.

"Wh-what if I get _vaporized?_" Icon wondered if this was what it was like to go hysterical.

"You won't as long as you don't get in between Starfire and the Kitten girl," Raven took Icon's wrist and began leading him out the door.

"B-but," stuttered Icon as he tried desperately to think of an excuse, "I've never even been to a prom!"

"Gotta start somewhere!" called Cyborg.

Icon let out a small 'meep' before Raven successfully pulled him out the door.

Terra looked to Beastboy. "So, Robin and Starfire…are they, you know?" She brought the two ends of her palms together as if to suggest something.

Beastboy put two hands behind his back and began bouncing on the balls of his feet, giving a sly smirk. "Maybe…"

XXX

"I _really _don't want to be here…" Icon whispered to himself as he nervously tugged at the collar of a black tuxedo. He was currently standing before a docked cruise ship that was adorned in decorations. The dock was swamped with high school students, all anticipating for the celebration that was awaiting them.

"Stay alert," ordered Starfire as she scanned the crowd, her hands were fiddling with a white carnation. She was dressed in a full-length gown and was wearing a pair of lavender gloves that extended past her elbows. As far as Starfire knew, Icon was currently accompanying her in the investigating Kitten.

Icon decided to take the atmosphere in while he still could. Once Starfire and Kitten were in the same vicinity, any moment could be his last. Sure he had been in danger of certain death before, but something about this felt _different_ somehow.

Maybe it was because Starfire, one of the strongest forces on the planet, was filled with jealous rage that was boiling just below the surface. Maybe it was because unlike the alien droids that used to hunt him, a living being such as Starfire was less predictable. Or just maybe, it was because of his lack of experience with this.

Icon may have been a high school student a relatively short time ago, but he had never been an expert at romance or at these kind of social gatherings. Come to think of it, it had been a while since he had been to _any _social gathering.

The sound of an engine brought Icon's attention to familiar looking motorcycle that had just been parked near the docks. A tuxedoed figure adorning a red helmet revved off the engine and climbed off the motorcycle. Starfire nearly darted towards the rider as he removed his helmet to reveal a mass of black spiky hair.

Robin sighed as he placed his helmet onto his motorcycle. "Really hoping she doesn't show," Robin groaned to himself.

Icon actually saw Robin flinch from his short distance away when Starfire tapped his shoulder from behind his back.

Robin slowly turned around with a visible grimace on his face, expecting to see the one who had blackmailed him into this date. The grimace vanished in a split second when he saw that the person standing behind him was not Kitten.

"Starfire?" Robin nearly croaked her name. It was taking every ounce of his power to keep his jaw from dropping in astonishment. His Tamaranean teammate certainly looked different tonight.

"On such occasions, I believe it is customary to wear a dead plant," Starfire began gently fixing the carnation she had been holding to the collar of Robin's tuxedo.

"Star," Robin just barely found his voice. He struggled to keep his breathing under control as Starfire's hands brushed against him. "You're supposed to be helping the others track down Killer Moth."

**"**Your orders were to investigate the girl," stated Starfire. "I intend to investigate her _thoroughly_." Starfire's face suddenly tensed. "Besides, you may require saving. This Kitten is perhaps some form of ooze monster in disguise. She certainly is ugly like a monster, yes?"

Icon actually let out a small laugh at Starfire's last remark, forgetting his anxiety for an instant.

Robin heard the laugh and looked over Starfire's shoulder. "Icon? What are you doing here?"

"M-me?" Icon was slightly abashed that Robin now knew that he was not helping with the search either. He then decided to come clean and joined Robin and Starfire. "I just came to help."

"Help?" inquired Robin.

A car horn suddenly sounded off. Everyone turned to see a pink limo pulling by the docks. The rear passenger door opened and a blonde haired girl, dressed in a pink strapless dress that was fixed with a white corsage at the front, stepped out of the vehicle. Icon recognized the girl from the image he and the rest of the Titans had been sent over the communicators: Kitten.

"Yoo-hoo! Robbie-poo!" Kitten's voice was like a knife. "Your Kitten has arrived! Me-_ow!"_

"Second thought," Robin's grimace reappeared, "Maybe I _will_ need saving…"

Icon nervously swallowed despite himself when Robin grudgingly walked away from him and Starfire to join Kitten. The one person that could have calmed Starfire down the most was now leaving to meet the person who was enraging her the most.

_My time to shine…_ Icon grimly thought to himself. He turned to see that Starfire's bottled rage was rising back to the surface.

"So," Icon tried to make conversation, "What's an ooze monster?"

"OH, ROBIN!" Kitten's irritating voice cut through the air. Every person in the vicinity turned to see her fawning over Robin, making it perfectly known to the world who was with her. "You're such a gentlemen! Not at all like my _WORTHLESS EX-BOYFRIEND FANG!"_

"An ooze monster," growled Starfire as she watched Robin rather stiffly take Kitten by the arm, "Is something that your Pyronite form would be able to deal with…"

"_Oh_," gulped Icon. He could see that Robin was now forcing himself to wear a smile. Starfire's eyes began glowing green and seemed to be attempting to restrain herself as she made to follow them from a distance.

"Uh," Icon made to follow Starfire in tow. He desperately tried thinking of something that would distract Starfire's attention. "Nice weather we're having."

Starfire passed by the limo that had brought Kitten. The Tamaranean then raised a fist and brought it down onto the hood of the vehicle. The limo was struck with such force that it briefly flipped up onto its front pair of wheels. The body of the vehicle shattered upon coming back into contact with the ground. Starfire then continued walking and made to board the docked cruise ship.

Icon swallowed nervously. "Tonight's going to be a magical evening," he said half ironically and half fearfully to himself.


	20. Date With Destiny II

About half an hour later, everyone at the docks had boarded the cruise ship that was now sailing the Jump City bay. With in that time frame, Icon had found at least one silver lining.

"Hey, Starfire," Icon was holding a now full plate of food. He was happily approaching Starfire who was stationed by a punch bowl. "Guess what, they have cocktail shrimp," he happily bit into a cool fleshy piece of cocktail sauce soaked goodness. Icon then pulled out a chocolate covered strawberry. "You've got to admit it, they really know how to—"

"Oh, Robin! Of course I'd love to dance with you!"

"Uh oh…" Icon's throat tightened when he turned to see Kitten dragging Robin to the dance floor. A _slow _song was playing. Icon hesitantly turned back to Starfire. Her eyes were glowing green again and starbolts were on the verge of firing off from her hands.

It was time for Icon to act again! "Uh, so, Star, what do you think of Earth food so far?" He was trying desperately to keep her attention from the scene before them. "Say, what flavor _is_ that punch—AH!"

Starfire had turned her head at Icon and had unintentionally released a stream of starbolt energy from her eyes. Icon survived only because, in his startled state, he had tossed his plate into the air. The plate took the full blast, shattering into pieces.

"H-hey, watch it!" said Icon indignantly. He had fallen backwards and the burnt remains of food had fallen in his hair and clothes.

Starfire's anger quickly evaporated upon realizing just how close she had been to incinerating one of her teammates. "I am so sorry!" she gasped.

"Relax, I'm still in one piece," curtly said Icon as he picked himself up and brushed himself clean with his hands.

"I am just so—It's all very—" Starfire tried to explain herself, "I am feeling—"

"Angry? Upset?" suggested Icon.

"Yes," sighed Starfire.

"Ooh, goody! Another slow dance!"

Icon and Starfire turned their heads to see Kitten forcing Robin into another dance.

"But believe me," Icon stared at the scene in revulsion as he took a seat at a nearby table, "If I could do something I would."

Robin seemed half in mind to break away, but Kitten gave a devilish smile as she fiddled with a cell phone at her side. The message was apparent: keep dancing or I can have the whole city destroyed. Robin sighed and allowed Kitten to lead him back into a dance.

"I still can't believe she that she actually has a connection with that Killer Moth guy," huffed Icon.

"She is a clorbag varblernelk," stated Starfire.

"A what?" Icon was still getting used to Starfire's Tamaranean terminology.

"Never mind," Starfire felt that it would be best not to reveal the meaning of the term to Icon. She took a seat at Icon's table, never taking her eyes off of Robin and Kitten. Starfire then placed an elbow on her knee and laid her chin against her hand. She gave a depressed sigh. Starfire had dealt with super powered beings and criminal masterminds, and yet here she was losing to that manipulative gremplork who she should be able to deal with as easily as a gnat.

Icon in turn drummed his fingers on the table as he rested his head against his opened hand. Raven had told him everything about Robin and Starfire before sending him off. Out of the original five members those two were supposed be the closest. Ever since the day that the Titans had officially formed, Starfire had always been looking to Robin for guidance. In return, Robin had always happily received Starfire, taking time to answer any of the questions she had about Earth. Robin had been Starfire's best source of company in this alien world while she had brought joy into Robin's hard life.

In the short amount of time Icon had known Starfire, he had noticed her ability to brighten any room with her happy personality. Right now, Starfire was looking at Robin with a longing and looked far from happy.

Icon sighed. When he had first arrived, Icon believed that the emotion he would mainly be feeling would be terror from Starfire's jealous rage. But now wasn't the case. Now, Icon was feeling _depressed_. Emotions could be catching.

"Hey, I bet the others will be calling us any minute now to say that they've caught Killer Moth," Icon finally decided to speak up after an unknown duration of time.

"I do hope so," sighed Starfire. She then clenched a fist. "If only she did not possess the power to destroy the city in the palm of her hand."

"Yeah, just one phone call," uttered Icon. The two of them paused when they caught sight of a metallic glint in a sash that was around Kitten's dress. Inspiration had struck the two of them.

"Wait a minute, who ever said that Killer Moth has to know if Kitten had a bad date?" said Icon as a small smile began to spread across his face.

"If we could cut off her only means of communication, then—" Starfire was becoming too ecstatic for words. She looked at Icon with approval.

"I'm on it…" Icon got up and went to look for a discrete place.

XXX

At an event such as prom, one would normally expect to see decorative lights and balloons in the air. However, no one would have listed an invisible cloud of protoplasm as something to expect. Yet there it was. Icon had snuck into an empty bathroom and had used the Omnitrix to transform into an Ectonurite.

Using the Ectonurite's natural abilities, Icon was passing over the throng of students completely undetected. Spotting Kitten and Robin was not difficult on the account of Kitten's pink dress and blonde hair.

_Bingo. _Thought Icon to himself. He swooped down until he was only a few inches from behind Kitten's head, which was resting on Robin's shoulder. _Now just stay where you are_…Icon slowly reached down for the cell phone tucked away in the sash at Kitten's waist. He would have to be careful though. If he wished to handle a physical object, Icon would have to condense his protoplasm body enough for him to become visible again. It would have to be done quickly. If Kitten or someone else saw him, who knew what would happen.

When he was sure that no one else was looking, Icon shot out a solidifying hand. Kitten moved at the last second. _Drat! _Icon quickly pulled his hand back and dispersed his body's protoplasm, making himself invisible again while continuing to stay behind Kitten.

"_Please_ tell me you guys have found Killer Moth," Robin had turned Kitten away as he held out his communicator at arm's length past Kitten's back. He was reaching his breaking point with this date and needed some reassurance that this experience would soon be over.

Icon scanned the area around him, making sure that his cover had not been blown. To the side, Icon saw Starfire looking expectantly in his direction from a distance. He would have to try again. Icon floated closer to Kitten and Robin with an outstretched arm.

_Just a little more…_Icon was so close that he could hear Cyborg's voice on the other end of Robin's communicator.

"Not yet. But we tracked down your girlfriend's home address."

"She's not my girlfriend!" snapped Robin into the communicator. Icon had just extended a solidifying hand when Robin spun Kitten around in his small fit. Icon had to suppress a frustrated growl; he had been so close that time.

Off in the sidelines, Starfire made a small swing with her fist upon in her own aggravation upon seeing the failed attempt. Both Icon and Starfire failed to notice the small smile that formed at the corners of Robin's mouth. Some more news had arrived through the communicator.

Suddenly, Kitten lifted her head from Robin's shoulder. In response to this, Robin quickly pocketed away his communicator.

An evil smirk spread across Kitten's face, a bad sign. "Kiss me," Kitten ordered Robin.

_WHAT?_ Icon just barely prevented himself from saying his thoughts out loud. Starfire actually gasped in horror upon hearing Kitten's request.

"Sorry," said Robin, producing his own smirk, "I don't like you that way. Matter of fact, I just don't like you." Robin broke away from Kitten.

Icon choked down a laugh while Starfire pumped her fists in glee.

"What?" angrily shouted Kitten.

"Killer Moth's being taken down as we speak," Robin's smirk deepened, "We're done here."

"No, we are not!" Kitten's voice became dangerous. She tore off the corsage from her dress. The petals on the corsage then fell apart to reveal a hidden push-button controller. "Daddy's not calling the shots tonight, Robbie-poo. _I _am!"

"_Daddy?_" Robin was stunned at the revelation.

_Whoa! _Icon was equally taken aback. Father and daughter. _That _was the connection between Killer Moth and Kitten?

"And unless you want me to let those nasty bugs out for a late-night snack," Kitten grabbed the front of Robin's shirt, "You better pucker up—AH!" Kitten screamed in horror as she felt herself pulled up into the air by her shoulders, losing her hold on Robin. She looked over her shoulder to find herself looking back into Icon's single Ectonurite eye.

"I don't think so, _toots_," Icon tossed Kitten into the air and caught her around the waist with a single arm, holding her like a sack of potatoes. He proceeded to snatch the controller away from Kitten with his remaining hand.

"Let go of me you freak!" yelled a kicking and screaming Kitten.

"We'll drop you off at jail," said Robin, folding his arms in a satisfied manner. While he had not been expecting Icon to take action like this, it was still better than having to kiss Kitten.

"Hey, you!" shouted an unfamiliar voice.

"Huh?" Icon turned around as Kitten let out an excited gasp.

"Fang?" squealed Kitten. Icon's single eye widened in shock. Knocking aside chairs, tables, and prom guests alike was the man-spider that had been robbing the jewelry store earlier on.

"_That's _your boyfriend?" Robin's jaw nearly dropped off its hinges.

"_You! _Ghost-freak!" growled Fang. "Put down my girl!"

"Ghost-freak?" Icon was taken aback by the name. He felt an odd stirring within him, almost as if some other part of him had heard that name before. Icon was quickly brought back to reality when the hourglass symbol on his chest began blaring red. "Uh oh…" Icon resumed his human form in a flash of red light. After giving a classic Wiley Coyote look of horror, Icon fell to the ground with Kitten like a rock.

Icon had just picked his sore body up when one of Fang's sharp legs knocked him aside. Kitten pushed herself up to see that Icon had dropped the push-button controller, which had now rolled out onto the floor in front of her. She reached out, seized it, and scrambled to her feet. Robin leapt forward and grabbed Kitten by the wrist. In the midst of wrestling the controller away from Kitten, Robin unwittingly drew Kitten into a dipping position.

Fang saw this and abandoned his attack on Icon. Robin was forced to drop Kitten just to free his hands as Fang came charging at him. The young martial artist was successful in parrying off the first few strikes that Fang sent his way, but a particularly vicious blow to the side sent Robin sprawling.

"Didn't you hear?" snapped Fang. "Keep your hands off my girl!" Fang was suddenly sent back by a barrage of green starbolts.

"Keep your legs off my boy!" yelled Starfire, her fists and eyes glowing dangerously. Her anger died down when she decided to attend to a more important matter. "Robin, are you injured?"

"Best I've felt all day," happily responded Robin as he picked himself up and tore off his tuxedo, revealing his uniform underneath.

"Icon?" Starfire was now inquiring about her other teammate's health.

"I've had worse," Icon gave a wave showing that he was still in working order. His smile quickly vanished when he saw a large open tear along the side of his suit. "Oh great!" Icon grimaced as he fingered the torn suit. "Raven's going to kill me…"

"Fangie-poo!"

The three Titans turned to see that Kitten had arrived at Fang's side. Kitten dramatically threw herself over him. "You really _do _care!" she cooed.

"Let's never fight again, baby," lovingly whispered Fang. Kitten's eyes sparkled when Fang's spider legs produced stolen jewelry from his pockets, an offering of love.

"Oh, Fang!" exclaimed Kitten. She threw her arms around the young man-spider's neck and kissed him squarely on his segmented mouth.

"Crazy moth dad, psycho-daughter, and a jewel thief boyfriend," Icon turned to Robin and Starfire's direction, "Anyone see a pattern here?"

"Whaddya say?" growled Fang, breaking away from Kitten and getting up on his spider legs.

"Oh boy," Icon's eyes widened in alarm as Fang started approaching him. Fortunately, he then heard the sound of the Omnitrix signaling that it was operable again. "If it's a fight you want…" Icon engaged the Omnitrix, turned the dial, and enveloped himself in a flash of green light.

"…Then it's I fight you'll—get…" Icon just realized that his voice had become much higher and that he was now looking up at Fang at a much greater angle. Icon had accidentally transformed into a miniscule Galvan.

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" asked Icon edgily as he unconsciously began backing away. If Icon didn't know any better, Fang appeared to be salivating.

"No reason. I've just always wanted to try _frog's legs_," slurped Fang. Icon let out a high pitched scream and ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. "Snacky, snacky," cackled Fang as he made to pursue.

"I don't think so!" Robin leapt over Icon and planted a foot squarely in Fang's face.

"Th-thanks!" called Icon over his shoulder. He then tripped over a metal cylinder. Icon turned his head to see that it was the push-button controller; Robin must have dropped it when Fang had knocked him aside.

Icon got back onto his feet and gingerly picked the controller up using both of his small gray hands.

"Give that back!"

Icon turned to see Kitten's shoes thundering towards him. He hoisted the controller over his tiny shoulder and began hopping away.

"Come back here!" shrieked Kitten.

"Why me?" groaned Icon. He skidded to a stop when he nearly collided with a stray blast of purple energy.

Kitten also stopped upon recognizing the attack. She turned to see that Robin and Fang were locked in combat.

"Ooooh! Isn't it romantic?" Kitten was so absorbed by the battle that she forgot completely about the lost controller. "They're fighting over _me!_"

"They are not fighting over you!"

Icon had only a second to see Kitten's content face before she was bowled over by the juggernaut that was Starfire. Kitten quickly found herself pinned to the refreshments. "Icon," Starfire had turned head in her miniscule teammate's direction, "Do whatever you can to destroy the remote! We shall—" Starfire was cut off when a stray blast of Fang's adhesive spit struck the back of her head. She lost her hold on Kitten for an instant, which allowed the blonde to scoop a fistful of cake and smash it into Starfire's face.

Icon turned and ran with the controller over his shoulder. In this Galvan form, there was not much Icon could do except find a safe place and use whatever alien intellect he had to disable the controller. He turned his head around until he decided to run towards the ship's superstructure. Icon climbed up the superstructure sing his suction cupped toes and fingers, with the controller safely tucked under his arm. When he reached the top, he sat down near the edge and set the controller beside him. Icon needed to rest for an instant to catch his breath.

"Phew, some prom this turned out to be," panted Icon. He suddenly heard a harsh cackling noise. Icon's back stiffened, he knew what that sound was, it was a birdcall. He turned to his side to come face to face with a seagull. The bird had been attracted by earlier on by the food that was being served at the prom and had been roosting here for the night.

"Uh, _nice _bird," Icon gave a nervous smile as he slowly got to his feet. He knew all too well that, like spiders or man-spiders for that matter, seagulls were neither picky eaters nor vegetarians. However, the seagull was not as interested in the gray amphibian as it was in the shiny object next to the amphibian.

Icon saw just what the bird was staring at. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" panicked Icon. He grabbed onto one end of the controller at the exact same moment the seagull snatched it up with its beak.

"Give that—mph!—back!" Icon vainly tried pulling the controller away from the seagull. The bird was easily proving itself to be the stronger of the two. Eventually, the seagull became bored of the tug of war battle and decided to simply take flight in hopes of getting rid of Icon.

"WHOA!" Icon found himself having to cling to the controller for dear life as his feet dangled in the air. He swung his legs around and wrapped them around the seagull's neck to get a more secure hold. Icon resumed trying to remove the controller from the yellow beak ensnaring it. The seagull became annoyed at Icon's persistence and attempted to shake him off. After failing to get rid of its pest, the seagull made a sudden dive. Icon turned his head to see that the seagull was headed towards a buffet table. An idea sprung to Icon's head when he caught sight of a particular plate of food.

The seagull passed the dish closely enough for Icon to grab a piece of the food. "Hey, look buddy, _shrimp!" _Icon waved the said piece of food in front of the bird's face. Perhaps the seagull would abandon the controller in favor of something tastier. It took a few pokes and prods, but the seagull soon decided that the fight was more trouble than it was worth. The seagull released the controller and allowed Icon to stuff the shrimp into its beak.

"_Finally_—" Icon was about to celebrate his retrieval of the controller when his legs lost the hold they had had on the seagull's neck after a sudden swerve. He fell squarely into a bowl of punch with a splash. Icon poked his head out while licking his dripping lips. "Fruit punch," he mused, "Not bad—AH!"

Icon was forced to leap out of the punchbowl when he saw Starfire's face come crashing down into the contents. He landed next to a large chocolate cake and saw that Kitten had somehow flipped Starfire into the punchbowl in the scuffle between them. The liquid in the punchbowl quickly began boiling as an angry green glow became apparent in the punch. Starfire wrapped her legs around Kitten's waist and tossed her straight into the large chocolate cake.

"_Uh oh_…" Icon could literally feel the rage emanating from the moving chocolate covered mass before him.

Kitten opened her chocolate-caked mouth in a manner similar to a provoked crocodile. "You—ruined—my—_DRESS!" _She looked down to see Icon with the controller.

Icon made to hop away but Kitten, in a surprising demonstration of quick reflexes, snatched him in mid air. She deftly took the push-button controller from Icon's hands, set the device under her thumb, and pressed the button.

"NO!" shouted Icon and Starfire simultaneously. Starfire began forming a starbolt.

"Don't even think about it!" Kitten smiled devilishly as she held Icon out, her fingers wrapped around him in a crushing manner. Starfire glared at Kitten and allowed her starbolt to die down.

Icon struggled in Kitten's grasp. If only he could escape. But how? Kitten's fingers were around his body like a vice. Icon squirmed a little more before his mind came up with a simple solution. He opened his mouth wide and sank his tiny teeth into Kitten's hand.

"_YEOW_!" Kitten quickly released her hold on Icon and vigorously shook her hand to get him off of her.

In the midst of his fight with Robin, Fang heard his girlfriend's scream.

"What part of keeping away from my girl don't you get?" he growled. Fang scuttled towards Kitten and Icon, abandoning his fight.

"Let go you little—Augh!" After one final swing, Kitten managed to fling Icon off of her, sending him sailing through the air.

"I've got him, baby!" Fang prepared to fire a blast of petrifying venom. However, just as Fang was about to launch his attack, Starfire sent a starbolt at the man-spider. The starbolt struck Fang at the side, causing him to fire in a completely different direction. Icon safely fell into a second cake that was being served.

Kitten went as rigid as a board the instant Fang's attack struck her. Her stiff hands allowed the controller to slide out of her grasp and onto the floor.

Fang recovered from Starfire's attack and went white at the knuckles with rage upon seeing this. He directed his attention to Starfire. "You little—" Fang stopped when the eyes located near the back of his head detected movement. He turned his body around just in time for him to see Robin's foot come crashing down upon him. After a string of well-placed kicks and blows, Robin caused Fang to collapse like a load of bricks.

Stepping over his fallen opponent, Robin walked over to where the controller had rolled. He firmly placed his foot upon it and gave Kitten the most content look he could muster. "Consider yourself _dumped…_" Robin applied his full weight upon his foot and crushed the controller.

"Nooooooo!" Kitten managed to produce an angry outcry even with her stiffened jaws.

Icon poked his small head out of the cake he had landed in, completely covered in icing and crumbs. He took the scene in around him. "Glad that's over with. Ooh," Icon saw what he was covered in and happily began licking his fingers.

**Author's note: Stay tuned for part 3**


	21. Date With Destiny III

"Nobody dumps Kitten! Nobody! You're going to pay for this, Robbie-poo! YOU'RE GOING TO _PAAAYYY!" _Kitten, despite being paralyzed by fang's venom, was making quite a racket as the authorities carted her away to an armored van. Fang had been handcuffed and shackled wherever he had a set of limbs and was being escorted behind Kitten.

The cruise ship had been pulled back into the docks and the entire team had reassembled by the railing of the cruise ship to watch as both Fang and Kitten were being taken away. 

"So, no second date?" Cyborg asked Robin jokingly.

Icon, who had long since resumed his human form, was observing a rather large insect larva that Beastboy was cradling.

"And all of the moths actually turned into these things?" Icon watched as Beastboy prodded its stomach.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Beastboy. "First, they were flying everywhere in that guy's basement and then they just—POOF!" Beastboy held up the larva for emphasis.

Icon examined the squirming larva from top to bottom. Its skin had a soft creamy color. Its soft tubular body was lined with short and equally tender looking legs. At the top end of its little body was a large round head that was equipped with a pair of big black eyes. It also had mouth that appeared to be smiling at him. The creature resembled a human infant in some respects.

"Speaking of which," Icon had thought of something else. "What happened to Killer Moth?"

"Him?" Terra pointed her thumb to the armored van. "He's already loaded in."

"What happened to your suit?"

Icon's back stiffened. He turned to see that Raven giving him a stern look. Icon looked down at himself. He was a wreck. There was a large tear at the side where Fang had slashed at him, stains that had been left by the fruit punch, and various areas that had crusted over with icing.

"I-I got into a fight?" Icon gave a cheesy smile. He could feel the sweat beginning to break out onto his palms.

"You _do_ remember how much that costs, don't you?" Raven folded her arms.

"Yes…" glumly admitted Icon.

"You know," piped up Beastboy who was still cradling the large larva. "Now that nobody's making 'em all mutate-y, these things might actually make good pets."

"Don't even think about it," Raven redirected her attention towards Beastboy. The last thing the empath needed at the moment was Beastboy bringing in a mutant animal as a house pet.

Icon suddenly felt a hand take him by the arm. He turned to see it was Cyborg.

"Hey, Icon, got a second?" The team mechanic was wearing an unusually sly grin.

"What for?" Icon was puzzled. Cyborg leaned down and whispered into Icon's ear. A grin gradually made its way across Icon's face, "I'm in"

Cyborg led Icon to where the MC for the prom was stationed with all of the sound and lighting equipment. Cyborg carried a hushed conversation with the MC as Icon began working the dial to the Omnitrix.

XXX

Meanwhile, Robin and Starfire were attending to a boy and a girl that had been struck by one of Fang's paralyzing venom blasts. The couple was being carted away by a few of Jump City's armored law enforcers for medical treatment.

"Sorry we pretty much ruined your prom," said Robin apologetically.

"Are you kidding?" The young male student almost cracked a smile despite his stiffened facial muscles. "This was the best prom ever!"

"Even if I still can't move my legs!" added the young female student as she and her date were carted off.

"Yeah, that'll wear off," assured Robin. The lights on the cruise ship suddenly switched off and spotlights began crossing the floor.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for," boomed the MC's voice. "The king and queen of this year's prom are… Robin and Starfire!"

The spotlights stopped dead on the two Titans.

Robin and Starfire remained frozen on the spot for an instant, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Had the MC really said what they thought he had just said?

Robin was the first to respond. He turned his head towards Starfire. Was it his imagination or did her hair and eyes seem to sparkle in the spotlight?

"I guess…one more dance wouldn't kill me," Robin said to himself. Starfire smiled as she allowed Robin to take her by the hand. As Robin led Starfire to the center of the floor he made a casual glance towards the spotlights overhead. He paused for a moment and peered closer upon noticing something.

The spotlights he had noticed were among the most unusual set of spotlights he had ever seen. First, there was their appearance. The spotlights were encased in a black metal that had green pathways running through them like veins. Also, the spotlights appeared to be _following_ him and Starfire in perfect unison, almost as if they had a mind of their own.

Robin smiled to himself. Now that he thought about, these lights probably _did _have a mind of their own. He smiled to himself as he gingerly took Starfire by the waist as she delicately placed a hand on his shoulder.

XXX

Some time later, Icon found himself seated at a table yet again in his human form. However, he now had a mutated larva seated in his lap. As luck would have it, Beastboy had left the creature in Icon's temporary care. The green changeling had somehow managed to summon the courage to ask Terra out to dance and Icon had been the one available person who could tolerate the mutant.

Icon stroked the larva's head as it began drifting off to sleep. He had to admit it; the little guy was a bit cute.

"Enjoying the festivities?" called a familiar voice.

Icon was surprised, "P-Professor Paradox?" He turned to see that the time traveling professor was indeed seated across the table.

"I just thought I'd drop by," explained the professor.

"It's…good to see you," Icon was still taken aback by Paradox's sudden appearance.

"And how has the life of a Titan been treating you?" inquired Paradox.

"It's been busy," admitted Icon. "But it's still better than being in the desert. I've officially got someplace to live…"

"It's been _quite_ the week," noted Paradox.

"Tell me about it…"

"Well, let's see," began Paradox. "You've been battling the city's various delinquents, attained a celebrity status, averted a number of robberies—"

"And I met Slade," said Icon all of a sudden. Robberies had reminded him of the heist at the diamond mines.

"Oh, yes…you did," Professor Paradox sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"I just can't get him out of my head," said Icon tensely.

"That might be help you," grimly stated Paradox. "Slade is not the opponent that you would want to be caught off guard by."

"I'm going to meet him again, aren't I?"

"Possibly."

"_Swell,"_ sighed Icon.

Professor Paradox decided that it would now be best to change the topic of the conversation. Perhaps something more casual would keep Icon from becoming too worked up, "I see that you've taken an interest in Silkie."

"Silkie?" Icon actually cocked his head in confusion.

"Oh, that's right," Paradox lightly tapped his head with the palm of his hand. "No one's named the little larva yet."

"Name it?" Icon looked down at the slumbering larva as his confusion grew. "But were not even _keeping_ it. Raven told Beastboy—"

"And _how often_ does Beastboy listen to Raven?" asked Paradox, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, that's right," Icon had to suppress a laugh.

"What's right?"

Icon looked over his shoulder to see that Raven was standing right behind him.

"Hey, Raven, I was just talking to—" Icon had just motioned in Professor Paradox's direction when he realized that the professor's seat was now vacant.

"Your imaginary friend?" suggested Raven.

"A time traveling professor," corrected Icon as he stared in disbelief at the empty space where Professor Paradox had been moments before.

"Time traveling? Do you mean Professor Paradox?" Raven recalled Icon mentioning the professor after the battle with Warp.

"He said that he was just dropping by," explained Icon.

"He just came and left?" Raven took Professor Paradox's seat at the table.

"Pretty much," said Icon. He redirected his attention back to the mutant larva that was beginning to stir.

"Did Beastboy actually leave you all alone with that?" inquired Raven, looking over the table.

"I'm okay with it," shrugged Icon. He proceeded to start stroking the creature's head again, "I was never that big on proms anyways."

Raven raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"I was more of an academic," explained Icon. The mutant larva woke up and began gurgling for attention. At this Icon began playing with the larva's legs, "And I was aiming straight for biology too."

"Sounds interesting," remarked Raven.

"It _was_," noted Icon. "But then I had to hit the road to avoid getting _deep-fried_," he let out a grim chuckle, "Good times…"

At that moment, the larva regurgitated a slimy mass onto Icon's shirt. He looked up to see a small glare cross Raven's face. "S-sorry about the suit," muttered Icon.

Raven let out a sigh, "Don't worry about it. I probably should have seen it coming..." She finished her last sentence with an exasperated huff.

"At least I kept it from getting vaporized," weakly indicated Icon.

"Yeah," nodded Raven. She then paused, "By the way, thanks for what you did back there for those two." Raven pointed to the dance floor to reveal that Robin and Starfire were still dancing,

"No problem," Icon gave a small smile. "Cyborg said it was the least we could do for them after that date."

"Sounds pretty fair to me," mused Raven. Icon suddenly made a small laugh. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Just something I thought of," explained Icon. "Fang's a spider and he gave Kitten a gift."

"Hm?"

"Let me explain. In some species of spiders, the male will give the female a gift. It's food in their case. The larger the meal, the more likely the male will be able to please the female. If the gift isn't good enough, she _eats _him!" Icon chortled. "Fang had to rob an entire jewelry store!"

Raven actually cracked a smile, "Yeah, I could see Kitten eating somebody."


	22. Shady Dealings

Many city blocks away from the cruise ship, a beaten and battered Warp had ran into a street alley. He leaned against a wall and placed his hands against his knees.

_What _had he been _thinking?_

Thunderous footsteps made Warp straighten back up.

"There you are!"

Warp was forced to shield himself with his armored gauntlets to avoid being completely singed by a stream of flames. The time traveler stiffly picked himself back up and found himself staring back at a monster.

It was an amalgamation of various organisms. It had four-arms and stood at a height of roughly ten feet, like a Tetramand. However, its two lower arms were those of a Vulpimancer, while it had a crystalline Petrosapien arm and a volcanic Pyronite for its two upper arms. It also had the legs and tail of a Kineceleran, the wings of a Lepidopterran, the right eye of a Galvan, the two left eyes of a Tetramand, and the cranial features of a Pisciss Volann. The mop of messy black hair on the creature's head was the only thing that revealed just what it had originally been.

Warp glared at the creature, "You ingrate! I free you from the _Null Void_ and this is how you repay me?"

"You tried putting me on a leash!" snarled the creature. It tossed a crushed plate-like device to Warp's feet.

Warp stared at the broken device in dismay. Being able to plant that machine on that beast's body was all Warp would have needed to get it to do his bidding.

"So what do you plan on doing?" asked Warp in a low voice.

"Well, now that you mention it," the creature produced a cruel smile as it began to ponder. "You _did _spring me out of that Null Void place. So I guess I _could _let you go…"

Warp stared at the creature with a degree of skepticism.

"_But_," the creature lifted its volcanic arm. "I've got a reputation to own up to!"

Warp hollered as the creature unleashed another wave of flames. The time traveler began running for the hills. The creature laughed in a amusement and made to follow.

"Don't bother with him, Kevin, he's hardly worth your time."

The creature paused. Someone else was here and that someone knew his name. Kevin looked over his shoulder to see a man wearing a unique black and copper mask standing calmly before him.

"Who are _you?" _impudently asked Kevin.

"That depends," responded Slade. "Who would you want to see me as?"

Kevin cocked his head at Slade. This man seemed to have almost no fear of him. "How about," mused Kevin, "Somebody that better not get in my way!"

"Am I boring you already? Pity," Slade made to leave. "And to think, I thought you would be interested in what I know about the Omnitrix."

"Wait!" called out Kevin. "What did you just say?"

Slade stopped and turned around. Kevin had taken the bait.

"I said _the Omnitrix_," repeated Slade. "As it just so happens, a person bearing such a device is currently residing here."

Kevin slowly began breaking out into a toothy grin, "Keep talking…."

_To be continued in **The Power of Two**_

**Author's Note: As indicated above, I will be continuing the saga in a separate story. In fact, I hope on dividing this into at least four parts. I will try posting the first chapter of my next story as quickly as possible under a crossover section for _Teen Titans _and _Ben 10_.**

**No flames please.**


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